One Day When
by dinui.parjai
Summary: As the Empire continues to keep its Iron grip on the galaxy, Ahsoka Tano struggles with her own greatest challenge: parenting her teenaged son. (Sequel to Some Day Soon. Not required to read that first.)
1. Chapter 1

The beginning of the war brought many new, terrifying moments to Aidan's life, Ahsoka could tell. She had to leave him often; going to fight who-knows-where and having many near-death situations that should have killed her. But she was also able to watch her son gain friends and learn to laugh a little more, opening up to people in ways he never had before.

Even though he never stepped foot inside a ship again, it didn't bother Ahsoka that he didn't follow in her footsteps.

In fact, it seemed Aidan was forging his own path to adulthood, which pleased her even more. But, on the flip side...

She also felt like they were growing apart.

Aidan spent more and more time with his friends on the _Ghost_ than he actually did her. Maybe it was his way of making her feel guilty for all the times she had left him.

Presently, she watched him attend some combat practice along with Ezra. Sabine and Zeb were nearby, watching,encouraging, and waiting turns. But. Even without the Force, Aidan was doing well.

A slight nudge from the force alerted her to someone else's presence. She expected it to be Kanan, as he was usually not far from his Padawan, but this time, it was Hera.

The Twi'lek pilot joined her in the viewing place above the sparring arena. She watched a moment, just in time to see Ezra get a tap from Aidan's dual wielded weapons.

"Well, he certainly takes after you, if that's what you wanted." She commented.

"Because of the way he fights?" Ahsoka asked, keeping one eye on her son and finding errors in his footwork and the way he shifted his balance. "I sure _hope_ that's not how I fight."

"Well. Deep down, I know you're proud." Hera said, a bit pointedly.

"Of course I am." Ahsoka agreed."But despite what people think, he is still much his father." Her statement was punctuated by Aidan knocking Ezra down, yet refusing to strike another blow, helping him up instead.

"Well, you seem to be the only one that knows who his father is. To all the rest of us- you're just a single mother who did as best a job as we've ever seen before. I know that I wouldn't be able to raise a child alone."

"I wasn't _that_ good." Ahsoka insisted.

"What parent is? You don't give yourself enough credit. Aidan's a fine man."

"He's only fourteen."

"They grow up fast in war."Hera pointed out, thoughtfully."You and I should know that."

"Yes. We should." Ahsoka loosed a breath and leaned forward on the rail, resting her chin and dangling an arm over it. "And I _am_ proud of him. I guess I just don't tell him enough. But it's not like I ever heard it either."

"It's never too late to start over." Said Hera. Putting a reassuring arm on her shoulder as she let her words sink it.

Sink in they did, in the part of Ahsoka's brain that would forever be dedicated to raising her son. In fact, when his training session was over, she was outside the 'fresher when he walked out, still drying his long hair.

"Ahh!" He jumped when he saw her. "Don't dothat!" He said.

"Do what?" She asked innocently.

" _That._ Don't sneak up on me like that. One day I'm going to accidentally hurt you."

His comment got a scoff from her. "I'd like to see you try."

She was more than ready when he took a lunge toward her and tred to use his extra towel as a whip- only succeeding in striking the empty space where she had been moments ago.

He just growled, using the offending weapon to dry his hair once again.

"Besides, I like sneaking up on you. It's my way of making sure you're prepared."

"Mom, I was in the _shower!"_

She shrugged."So?"

"Hmph. Sometimes I wonder if _I'm_ the adult here." He turned his back for a moment before heaving a long sigh. "Look away,please."

"It's not like I've never seen you naked before." Ahsoka retorted, but complied as he changed into his undergarments.

"You could've changed in the 'fresher."

"And _you_ could've waited outside!"

"I _was_ outside. And don't raise your voice at me! It's what you get for not using the locker room like everyone else. Face it...-You come home because you miss me."

"Oh, I learned how to not miss you long ago. This is just me being a good son."

Ahsoka knew he hadn't meant for it to, but his words stung. She turned away again, an attempt to hide her troubled expression. "How many times do I need to apologize?"

"Just once more."He answered, and pulled on his shirt. He noticed that she had turned back and stopped. "What?"

"My leaving gave you a chance to grow up, it seems." She stepped closer to him, looking him in his electric blue eyes, glancing at his human ears and long blonde hair. She reached out a hand to cup his salmon-tinted cheek, but he jerked away.

"You'll have girls chasing after you, soon." She just said.

"Oh, I already do," He said with a smirk.

"Just keep your pants on." She instructed, and his eyes grew wide.

"Mom!"He cried indignantly, turning even more red than usual.

"What? It's true. It's how _you_ got here. And I'm too young to be a grandmother."

He groaned, exasperated, and for a moment it was like old times between them, before a rift had been established, leaving them distant. Lately, it seemed every time Ahsoka came back, her son had gotten a little taller, a little more filled out,a little stronger. Sometimes even all three.

She tried to reach for his cheek again, expecting to be met with resistance a second time but instead felt his face against her palm, with its odd, human body temperature.

"I do love you, Aidan."She said, taking a bit of his hair between two fingers. For a moment, he consented until-

"Oh, please. You are not braiding it." He tried to tug away, but her grip was solid.

"Why not? You used to love it."Ahsoka said as she braided.

"I look too girly."

"Then cut your hair. You were supposed to be a girl, anyhow."

He mumbled something under his breath that she chose not to hear, but he was soon unable to leave his mother's careful hands as it combed and wove through his hair. Aidan didn't even know how she knew how to braid-it wasn't like she had hair herself, or any daughters.

"I do wish I could have a daughter."Ahsoka said, quietly, as she finished the braid and tied it off. "But I ruined that chance when I didn't go back to your father. I ruined it for you, too."

Aidan was silent as she turned him around and took another close look at him.

"You look just like your father."She said, then stood up even taller to kiss his forehead.

Her son stood still just a moment longer before shifting his weight to his right foot. "I need to get to drills, mom." He excused himself, walking toward the door. "I'll see you later."

The casual way he said it made it even worse of a departure for Ahsoka. But it was just a reminder of how things were between them now- separate lives. Legally, Aidan would still be one of her dependants, but that hardly applied in the case of war. Some days, he made his own decisions, without comsulting her. Because of how he'd grown, it was easy to mistake his age, too.

"I love you, son."She said to the empty room,then turned on her heel and headed to the command center.

 **ooooooooooooo**

Ahsoka saw her son again at dinner. He was sitting amongst a group which consisted of his best friend, Landen, and a few other cadets. He was laughing, something that brought a happy smile to her face, even as she was on the other side of the cafeteria, seated between Hera and Sabine of the _Ghost_ crew.

"Are you sure that son of yours isn't force sensitive?" Kanan asked, resting his elbows on the table across from her. "It seems he did a good job against my padawan. Ezra won't stop complaining of it. He wants me to beat you as justice."

"I'm afraid he won't get it,then." Ahsoka said, casually, biting into a piece of meat.

"Oh, is that a challenge?" The younger man's eyebrows narrowed in response.

"I thought Jedi were supposed to be humble."Sabine put in from one side of her.

"I'm not a Jedi." Kanan and Ahsoka responded in tandem, then looked at each other. It was true that neither of them were associated with the Order, but eacb for different reasons. Ahsoka had alienated herself and no longer identified as one. Kanan could no longer be a Jedi, as the Order was forcibly ended.

Ahsoka finally turned away, a single nod in approval at her younger friend. Kanan grunted in response, his grip on his fork loosening so his knuckles regained color. "I sense a competition." He said, a competitive twinkle in his eye.

"I sense a victory."Ahsoka shot back, causing Hera and Sabine to laugh while Kanan's face flushed a bit as his ego deflated. Without a sassy retort, he grumbled and stood up, leaving the table.

"He actually thinks he can win." Sabine observed, a smile still hidden behind her hand.

"As if."Hera agreed."He's got an ego the size of Coruscant, and it's always great to see him put in place."

"I'm sure you do that enough."Ahsoka pointed out.

"My point is."Hera continued."No amount of preparation will be able to save him now. It's time to show him what a woman is capable of."

"I've beaten him before, years ago."Ahsoka remembered."I doubt now will be much different."

At the subtle roast, Sabine chuckled and almost choked on her bite of food. Hera snickered, but behind her eyes Ahsoka still sensed a faint look of worry or defense on the pilot's mind. For a moment, she almost felt guilty for how she forced Hera to act in a demeaning manner toward the man she loved-Ahsoka had been forced to do the same by various people, including herself- and remembered how awful it made her feel.

"Don't worry. I'll be careful with him, Hera."She assured, only half pretending to project sarcasm as she reached a hand to her friend's arm.

"I just have a feeling that some day, Kanan's emotions will get the better of him, more than they already had."

Deep down inside, Ahsoka felt the same way. But she dared not voice her feelings of Kanan's weakness- no, she refused to think it. But her concern was hard to repress, as she also felt that Aidan's fatal flaw was the same as Kanan's.

The only difference was that for her son, Ahsoka was, in her eyes, _personally_ responsible.

And she wondered if it would be her own downfall.

Or even Aidan's doom.


	2. Chapter 2

"I'd rather not have gotten involved in something like this." Ahsoka reprimanded her son as they walked together towards the training room, where the fued between Ezra and Aidan was to be settled by their respective "Jedi" guardians.

"It was just fun, mom."Aidan shrugged."How was I supposed to know Ezra could hold such a grudge? Besides, he's annoying! And he needs to be put in his place, Jedi or not."

"Just because you are not a Jedi makes you no less than he." Ahsoka reiterated her point as she thought to herself, _I am very glad you are not a Jedi such as he. Then, my job of being your protector would be so much harder._

"I taught you better than this." Ahsoka concluded, making Aidan turn to her in shock, already holding his hands up and trying to argue."I taught you to be humble. An observer. A peacekeeper! Not to be running around and looking for trouble and making me have to clean up after you!"

"No, mom!" Aidan abruptly stopped, and for a brief moment was terrified at the tone and fire in her son's tone and expression. "You taught me to be fearless. To take what others say or do to me with a grain of salt. That's what you taught me! And you seemed more than happy to take up the challenge to beat Kanan."

"I'm not happy at all. I have no time for it." Ahsoka waved off his accusation and took further steps down the hall, leaving Aidan to try and say more.

"I don't understand you, mom. You tell me one thing, and then get mad when I do it. You tell me to defend my honor, but suddenly defend Ezra in all of his faults."

"I don't understand why you dislike him so much. I thought you two were friends."

Aidan blanched at her while he gathered his bearings. "You don't know anything about my life." He finally spat, his eyes narrowing. "Because you're never even there."

Ahsoka had been listening to him with an indifferent expression on her face. But, inwardly, her mind was threatening to betray her. Because she had no right to punish Aidan for being rash, or reckless. These "training sessions"-no, sparring matches, more like, had been going on for a long time, and neither she nor Kanan had tried to put a stop to the tensions between the two teenaged boys.

"You're a hypocrite!" Aidan continued. "What was I supposed to do- Apologize for beating him over and over again?"

"You aren't supposed to take as much joy in beating him, for starters."

"I enjoy it because he's a bragger, and a show off who can't back up anything he says!"

"Enough!" Ahsoka was not letting this go on any longer. She pushed Aidan into the wall with one hand and held him there, leaning into his face to where even his weak human ears could hear her. "Ezra has faced down more evil in the past year of his life than you ever will. Those scars on his face? They're from the blade of an Inquisitor. But I know he's told you that. That's why you're angry, after all. Angry because you know that no matter how much you train or fight, you're afraid you'll never be as good as Ezra Bridger. And I'm telling you to stop." She released him, and Aidan dared not say more.

"I will have to talk to Kanan about this ongoing fued between you two. It's time for it to stop. Clearly, you are not friends as I thought you were. You are competitors, which I respect, but it cannot be allowed to grow into something more."She stepped further away from her son, having to clear the way for a few passersby. "I'm not going to fight Kanan. Let this be a lesson to you-you are not to involve me in your boyish antics."

At his offended expression, Ahsoka quickly recovered. "I mean that as lovingly as possible. I have tried to provide a good life for you. But I cannot clean up after you. I have bigger issues to worry about. Much bigger. Issues that I hope and pray you will never have to."

Behind her, Aidan growled softly. An oddly Togrutan noise, made even more intimidating by the fangs he inheirited from her.

"You can be mad all you want."Ahsoka finished. "But one day you will understand why I made the choices I have. Not just this one. Go apologize to Kanan and Ezra on both of our behalves."

He made no move to.

"Aidan, please." Her voice returned to normal, Ahsoka now felt like she was fighting of the threat of tears as she begged him. "I don't want to be the bad guy here. I just want you to understand."

He growled again, to further show his displeasure. Ahsoka knew any attempt to impress that would be counterproductive and instead, just bowed her head in dismissal and left him, just inches from the training room door.

 **oooooooooooooo**

Ahsoka didn't know what had come over her like that, getting so rough to the point she shoved Aidan against the wall. Perhaps it was just her Togruta instincts kicking in. After all, Aidan was getting very... territorial, for lack of a better word. Despite his human apperance, her son was still dangerous enough to need to be put in check.

Ahsoka also didn't know why she had defended Ezra so much- it was no doubt Aidan now wondered whose side she was on. The only reason Ahsoka would be so protective is because of the way she related to Ezra. They were virtually the same ages when their respective wars began. They had both been subject to countless amounts of violence.

 _And to think, we were happily joking around with each other this morning._

Her only conclusion was that Aidan's mood swings were as much her fault as they were his. He was right;she _was_ absent from his life more and more these days, in the critical teen years when he needed him most.

 _I need someone who doesn't resort to violence as much as I do._

 _I need Aidan's father._

 _I need Lux._

But, she couldn't have him. Not while he was married to another woman with his own daughter and his own life in the Imperial Senate. Confronting him as Aidan's father would only make things worse, and perhaps get them all killed, for apparent "fraternizing with the enemy".

 _I need someone else, then. Someone who understands being a man much more than I do._

A slight grin crossed her face as she thought of the perfect candidate. She hadn't had contact with Rex in what seemed like forever, ever since he'd suddenly stopped responding to her messages.

Ahsoka needed a real excuse to get Rex back. I she couldn't have Lux back, then Rex was the next best person. Sure, Aidan hadn't seen him since he was an infant, but another strong father figure would do him good. She had watched her son gravitate towards people like Kanan... which may have been another source of the tension between him and Ezra.

In a selfish way, Ahsoka wondered how much she just wanted Rex back just for herself, so she could have a friend. Then she purged that thought from her mind and focused on Aidan. This would be for Aidan's good. Rex would be for Aidan's good... The only problem was she didn't know any of his whereabouts or the like. There was only so much the force could do. But what was left may just be easy enough to solve on her own.

She would have thought deeper on the subject until she got a message that requested her prescence on the bridge- there was a transmission that needed her analysis.

Ahsoka huffed in annoyance at the interruption of her quiet meditation time- another distraction was just what she needed to keep herself farther from getting answers about Rex. This better had be worth her time. Most issues nowadays were being handled by Hera and the ghost crew, anyway. Ahsoka's job was just to come when she was called and make sure everyone else was doing theirs. Occasionally, she'd get her hands dirty, but not nearly as much anymore since she was responsible for Aidan.

She sulked as she marched down the hallway, lesser ranked individuals dutifully clearing her path. It was kind of nice to be at the top of the ranks. Being respected was, in her opinion, a well deserved bonus.

 _But why does it seem that my own son is the only one I don't have control over? The only one who doesn't respect me?_

 _Lux would have some explanation for this. It would all make sense if Lux were here,_ she tried to tell herself. But the demon on her shoulder screamed that it was all her fault.

She was still shaking her head when the _Ghost_ crew filed into the command room. Ahsoka was hardly paying attention to them, even though Hera and Kanan's not-so-secret relationship would make her "Lux-sick." She was too occupied and too busy for that now.

The transmission, as it turned out, was from a would-be Imperial defector. Minister Tua wanted safe passage off Lothal, and thought they would trust her because of her fear of her superiors.

Ahsoka wanted to snort indignantly and outwardly refuse, but instead put on an ever better, even more fake calm face with a smile. Even talked normally when her decision was asked. Ezra's more liberal opinions was the source of the problem:the boy could be annoyingly stubborn, Ahsoka conceded, but that didn't devalue him in her eyes like it did Aidan's. Besides, he could be whiny too. It wasn't just Ezra at fault here.

The final decision by the _Ghost_ crew was to attempt a rescue of Tua for the off-chance that it was genuine and could benefit the Rebellion with Imperial records.

 _Aidan's not going to like the fact that Ezra got his way... Again._

And she was right.

Her son was waiting for her in the docking bay, casually reclining on the nose of her fighter, unknowingly recreating the pose his father had made upon greeting her years ago on Raxus, his then-home.

 _I'm not so bad, aren't I?_

Shaking the memory away, Ahsoka now decided between waiting for him to come down,to talk up to him, or join him.

Once he saw the _Ghost_ crew loading up, Aidan made the decision for her.

"There he goes."Aidan gestured mockingly to his "frenemy" in the distance. "Off to save whatever he thinks is worth saving and risk losing our best pilot in the process."

"Aidan..."She warned.

"Okay, sorry. Second best."

"That's not what I meant." Ahsoka raised an eyebrow up at him. "Aidan, I... I made a mistake back there, talking with you as I did. I let my emotions, my past take hold of me and refused to open myself to your side of the argument."

He blinked a few times, then those electric blue eyes stared down at her. "Emotions aren't a bad thing. Neither is your past."He slid down from his perch. "And I accept your apology."

 _I feel as if I'm apologizing to an equal rather than my charge._

"But I do understand why you feel as you do. The kind of... Selfishness you have when it comes to protecting the whole of us-"

"I know, I know. I'm wrong to even try to direct it anywhere. I just feel like..." He struggled for words, gesturing with movements she was supposedly supposed to interpret.

"Like you're responsible for the survival of the Rebellion."

"Exactly."

"And you feel like Ezra's recklessness is going against it."

He nodded emphatically.

A slow grin came across Ahsoka's face. "I think you're just getting a bit territorial."

His eyes opened wide in shock. "Territorial? Like..."

"You _are_ half Togruta after all."

"I know but... Do we _really_ get territorial? Like an animal?"

"Or it could be the testosterone."Ahsoka pointed out, playfully putting a finger to her chin in fake thought."According to the doctor, you are at the age to be experiencing puberty and will encounter many strange thoughts-" she stopped at Aidan's horrified and embarrassed expression and laughed at his expense as he tried to recover some of his dignity.

"Alright, fine, Mom. I'm not territorial, or... Pubescent. I'm just...I think I'm just jealous."

The look in his eyes communicated much more of his feelings than was being said. And at that moment, she understood. She understood all of it.

"Oh, Aidan. I know I've been a terrible mother but you _don't_ need to be trying to compete for my affection with _anyone. You are my son._ " She took a step closer and matched his eyes."Nothing can change that. You don't need to prove anything to anyone. Least of all,me. And I'm sorry if I've been giving you the impression that you've obviously got. I'm not trying to replace you with Ezra. I would never do that. Besides-"She leaned in for affect."You're right, he's whiny."

Aidan let out a short laugh and covered his mouth with a fist. "I know, right!" He finally recovered. "He _always_ gets what he wants, but won't take the consequences for it!"

"Regardless of that."Ahsoka got him back to the subject."You do need to respect him. He's been through a lot. You don't have a father, but imagine not having me, either."

"Yeah, but."Aidan shifted his feet awkwardly. "I _never_ had my father. Ezra had both of his parents for a long time. He was _happy..._ for a long time."

"You're also jealous of his attitude."Ahsoka picked up on her son's cues easily. "You want adventure. You want to be the hero. You want... A family."

Speaking it aloud didn't make it any easier to accept. "You want more than me."

He just nodded.

Ahsoka just sighed in response. "Aidan,I-"

"Please."He interrupted."Can you just tell me about my father? Where he is, who he is? I just want to know. Even if he's dead, I promise. I'll stop asking! I swear!"

"It's not a problem of you asking-"Ahsoka quickly established."It's a matter of his safety."

"So he isn't dead, at least."

"No, he isn't."She agreed. _And I would know if he were. I would know if my soulmate had passed. Even if I refuse to let myself see anything else about him... I at least know he is alive._

Was he a good man?Aidan asked, interfering with her thoughts.

"Yes."Ahsoka said, almost pathetically."He was."

"I hope to meet him someday."

"I've promised you will."She put her hands on both of his shoulders and looked into his face again."The day is coming soon, Aidan. I can tell it is. One day you'll wake up one morning, walk down the hallway and find your father leaning against the kitchen counter with a cup of caf in one hand, a data pad in the other. He'll smile at you and say,"good morning, son."

"And I can call him dad." Aidan added, hopefully.

"And you can call him dad."Ahsoka agreed, alarmed to notice that tears were gathering in her eyes, just thinking about the image she had created from only her memories. She lived only for the day Lux and Aidan would one day meet face to face, and know who they were looking at.

Ahsoka hoped with all her heart that she would not fail her son of his one wish, and deny Lux the privilege to meet his own flesh and blood, the continuer of the Bonteri family line... Harbored in the son he had never met.

 _I've made so many mistakes in my life._ She told whoever was listening.

 _Please keep me from another._


	3. Chapter 3

The _Ghost_ crew had just left on their mission, and with Ezra away, at least for awhile, peace had mostly been restored to the Tano family. Aidan followed Ahsoka around like he would when he was little while she listened in on meetings and monitored the progress of Hera and her crew.

At one point, Aidan was able to talk her out of working in order to spend some time training together. Still, she kept herself on standby, with her commlink close to her so she could be ready the moment anything went wrong.

When she trained with Aidan, Ahsoka always did so barefoot and without any of her extra armguards, vest guard, or any of the sort. She made herself as light as possible so she could be even more limber. Because of his half-Togruta gene pool, Aidan was just as limber or even more so, because of his youth. He could bend and purposely dislocate in places normal humans never would be able to.

But force, did he sweat like a human! She hadn't ever sweat like he did in a single workout,and that included her labor and birthing of him.

Ahsoka's personal theory was that one of the reasons he was so underweight was because any weight he gained, he sweated out, and he wasn't able to keep muscle on him in large amounts.

"You're too heavy on your feet."Ahsoka chided, circling him on her toes as he kept her in front of him in order to manage her every move.

"I'm not as flexible as you are." He tried to convince her, but then slid into a near split to get under her attack and make a would be strike to her solar plexus.

 _Good._ Ahsoka thought with pride, but her face didn't show it as she focused on teaching him a lesson.

"Now the next defense."She ordered, stepping back and combing his sweaty locks out of his eyes.

"I don't remember the next one." He said hesitantly and then narrowly dodged her attack.

"Well, you'd better do something, then." She kept her arm outstretched and waited for him to react. He chose to wrap her in her own arm for a choke hold.

 _And now comes part two._

She countered in a way he'd never seen before to further try and train his awareness. Just as unprepared the second time, it resulted in him being forced to the ground with such force he even made an "oof" noise as the back of his head struck before his hands.

"You didn't land right, either." She chided as he growled and got up. "You know, back in my day, we had entire sessions dedicated to falling and rolling. I doubt you would like if I made you do that, would you?"

But Aidan wasn't listening. He had wandered off to the side and was taking a drink of water and wiping off his face. Ahsoka heaved a long sigh and walked up behind him.

"Don't become frustrated just because you lose." She reminded him for the upteenth time.

"That's not why I'm frustrated, I'm frustrated because I'm having such trouble focusing on the application to all these rules. I have to remind myself to not start thinking this is a waste of time."

"Well, I can give you application."Ahsoka pointed out as she also took a drink.

"I know, but-"

"When you were about six, you were kidnapped by Tarkin and some of his men. Remember what you did to him when he wouldn't let you go?"

A small smile crossed Aidan's face. "I bit him."

She nodded once, a proud look on her face."Indeed you did."

"But nowadays, it just seems like everyone uses blasters and I often wonder what the point of all this is." He gestured to the training room as a whole.

"Because it may one day save your life. Now-"

Whatever she was to say next was interrupted by a sudden, urgent, shout. "General!"

By wandering off to Aidan's side, Ahsoka had walked too far away to hear her comm go off as it had many times before. So, a courier himself had run all the way there upon the _Ghost's_ landing to alert her himself.

"Son, I-" Ahsoka turned to apologize to Aidan for needing to leave, but he had dissapeared, along with any sign that he was there. She turned back and focused on the courier, her now current priority.

"There's something you need to hear." He explained, and then, she was running after him.

 **oooooooooooo**

Ahsoka was ready and waiting alongside Commander Sato when Kanan, Hera, and the others ran inside the command center. Ezra looked especially spooked, in a way that Ahsoka could understand. They must have found another inquisitor. Or worse-

"A Sith Lord." Kanan announced gravely,making Ahsoka and Sato's eyes widen in shock.

"A Sith Lord? Here?" She asked for clarification.

"And it looks like he's followed us!"Hera cried, alarmed at the signal that had appeared on the holodesk in front of them.

"We're scanning a ship entering our sector."A lieutenant confirmed right as she the words had left her mouth.

Even as Phoenix squadron was ordered to intercept, Ahsoka was fighting a sinking feeling that this fighter was not somebody who could be easily defeated, even by as whole squadron.

Her conjecture was proven fact when the strange fighter began picking them off one by one. Hera was fighting the urge to join in, Ahsoka could tell, and soon was abandoning command in order to get involved. After asking Ezra's permission (she knew Aidan would be thrilled) she was going along too, because she was going to discover the identity of that Sith Lord, whether he liked it or not. Kanan seemed to have the same idea.

It became evident pretty soon that the _Ghost_ would be one of the few, maybe the only survivor of this battle. Ezra,Sabine, and Zeb took control of the guns, while the three remaining adults remained in the cockpit.

With the Sith Lord after them, it seemed only logical to try and discover his identity. And so, that's what Kanan and Ahsoka sought to do.

His hand on her shoulder and the other outstretched, while she did the same. As Vader came straight for them, Kanan and Ahsoka focused, and-

Three terrible words was all it took.

Three terrible words to have Ahsoka's world come crashing down around her.

 _The apprentice lives._

She screamed and fell into Kanan's arms.

 **ooooooooooooooo**

 _The dark was nice._

 _It was strangely comforting, just like a kind of sleep, and a reliving of her past all in one._

 _Snapshots of her life,with Anakin._

 _The day Anakin claimed her as her padawan, after he was on the brink of rejecting her._

 _All the times he had comforted her,trained with her, been injured beside her._

 _Geonosis- where he'd almost been forced to leave her for dead._

 _Felucia- where he'd refused to do so again._

 _The Temple bombing- where he'd not stop trying to prove her innocence. And then she had walked away from him, leaving him to believe it was his own wrongdoings that had caused it._

 _Anakin had not known about Aidan.Had never known of him._

 _"This is all your fault."_ A voice in the back of her mind insisted. _"The darkness he suffers from is all your fault."_

 _"You did this to him. The man you loved as a brother."_

 _"You alone are the cause of his downfall."_

 _Ahsoka knew that was the Darkness trying to claim her. And it just seemed so... right. Even if she knew it wasn't. But she couldn't fight back._

 _Couldn't return to the light._

 _Couldn't..._

 _Until someone rescued her._

 **oooooooo**

Ahsoka would never find out the identity of her rescuer, because when she woke up, she was alone.

Both Kanan and Ezra denied any involvement. Then, of course, Ezra _had_ to pry into her personal life and ask if she knew who the Sith Lord was.

"No."She lied,"I don't. But I do know that they'll be coming. They'll _all_ be coming now."

The rest of the crew entered as Kanan affirmed her acknowledgement-and Ahsoka did have to admire Hera's thoughtfulness in saying they'd be behind her. Because they couldn't be.

Ahsoka knew who that Sith Lord was. And she may very well have to make the ultimate sacrifics to stop him. She couldn't have anyone following her. Not her friends, or her family.

After their brief discussion, Ahsoka reluctantly followed the crew to the new command ship. Commander Sato and his deck officers were already there. But...

Ahsoka didn't see Aidan.

In any other situation, she would not have been so frantic. But with the command ship destroyed, and Aidan having been on it...

"Commander Sato, where's my son?!" She demanded, not caring that she was interrupting his current conversation.Bless his heart, as soon as he realized what Ahsoka was inquiring about, he focused solely on her.

"Are you _sure_ he wasn't with you?" She insisted, drilling him with narrowed eyes.

The man in charge shook his head mournfully. "If he was anywhere other than the bridge, I will have no record of him."

Kanan and Hera exchanged worried looks. Ezra was alarmed as well, as he was force sensitive enough to feel the sheer worry radiating off of Ahsoka.

"He was not with my crew when we were forced to evacuate. I assumed he was somewhere else."

"Were there any escape pods?"

"I'm not sure."

Ahsoka began looking around wildly, face to face of everyone in the room as if somehow, Aidan was hidden among them,playing a trick.

It was Hera who took up the gauntlet when it came to comforting Ahsoka. "Ezra, find out about the escape pods. Kanan, help us look." She took a few steps toward the distraught mother, and gently placed a cautious hand on her.

"Ahsoka, you're tired. I'm sure Aidan will be here shortly after you rest."

"Don't talk to me that way, Hera."Ahsoka warned, trying to keep her voice level.

But Hera didn't back down. She may have been a mother figure to the crew, but still did not understand how Ahsoka felt.

Aidan was only sixteen years old. Ahsoka would not accept that her son, her only child, her only reminder of the man she loved and could never love again...

She didn't care if she made a scene. With Hera and a medic trailing behind her, she became a frantic search through the ship. Without Aidan answering his comm, there was nothing else to do.

If she hadn't been worried before, Ahsoka certainly was now. Aidan wasn't responding to his comm, her voice, anything, even as she searched wildly, calling his name.

Arriving at the same junction for the third time, Ahsoka finally paused to take a breather and allowed Hera to catch up with her. The Twi-lek pilot again tried reasoning with her, speaking in soft tones and and promising to find Aidan if Ahsoka would just _calm down..._

But nothing could stop a determined mother. Especially a Togruta, ex-jedi one. No amount of talking would do at this point unless Ahsoka saw Aidan unharmed and in front of her.

"He's mad at you, remember?"Hera asked,still in that annoyingly calm voice. "That's why he's not answering his comm."

Ahsoka wanted to punch her friend for her arrogance. _How do you know??!_ She wanted to scream and run away, but at the same time could not muster the strength needed to strike Hera and escape. Then Kanan returned and was restraining her too. Onlookers were staring, and those who knew what was going on murmured and began to disperse.

"Aidan!" Ahsoka yelled, pulling away from Kanan, who had convinced Hera it was dangerous to try to keep restraining Ahsoka in her distraught state, as force energy was radiating off of her at an extreme level even he had trouble maintaining.

Tears were running down the mother's face as Aidan didn't step forward;and neither did anyone bearing news of him. She gave up and slid to the ground, her son's name still the only word on her lips as Kanan held her in the and tried to smother her dangerously dark-side thoughts with his own.

Ahsoka finally surrendered and didn't object when the antipsychotic drug was injected into her shoulder and the world went black again.


	4. Chapter 4

Ahsoka didn't get out of bed the next morning.

Or the morning after that.

Even when her stomach begged her to eat, and her muscles grew tight and cramped without being used.

She just laid there...staring up at the ceiling as she mourned her lost child. Her son. Her _son,_ who she loved more than life itself, was gone. Ahsoka couldn't even feel him in the force anymore... not even a mere thread, after her run in with Darth Vader that same fateful day.

Rolling to her side, she just had enough time to bury her face into her pillow before a fresh round of tears came. Aidan was gone, and she had nothing to remember him by.

Nothing except memories... and a few holos she'd made of him over the years until he had grown big and aware enough to stop her.

On the third day, someone knocked on her doorway as they cleared her throat. "Ahsoka..."

"Go away." She growled.

"Ahsoka, I just came to say that-"

"I said go away!" Ahsoka repeated, sitting up and yelling at the now flustered and slightly frightened Bail Organa. He himself had come to visit her. Come to offer his condolences. "I don't want to hear what you have to say."

"Very well."The senator sighed, his shoulders droping as he turned away. If Ahsoka hadn't ignored him after that, she would have been aware of Bail gesturing for someone to come inside. He cleared his throat again. Ahsoka ignored him.

Until she turned around and saw her son, safe and sound, standing mere feet from her with his eyes at the floor.

"I found him on my flagship, crying to Leia about how he thought he lost you." Bail explained, crossing his arms and smiling in amusement as Ahsoka jumped up and nearly tackled Aidan in a hug. He was taller than her, weighed more than her, but still stumbled a bit from the impact.

"What did you think you were doing?!" Ahsoka exclaimed, "leaving me like that! Do you know how worried I was?! You weren't answering your comm or-"

"Everyone I asked told me you were aboard the command ship when it blew." Aidan spoke. His voice was deep and husky, whether from puberty or emotion or a mix of the two, she didn't know.

Ahsoka cupped his cheek as she exaimined him for injuries she knew weren't there. Aidan was still as skittish as if he was awaiting punishment, but he didn't jerk away. She mouthed a simple "thank you" to Bail over his shoulder and he nodded in acknoledgement before vacating the room. Ahsoka wrapped her arms around him again and breathed in his scent, restoring his unique force signature into her mind.

"Did you really think I would leave you like that?"She asked, to which his eyes met hers.

"I wish a lot of things, mom." Was all he said. Now he finally shrugged her off and forced her a few steps back. "I wish you would focus more on me instead of your work." He added,under his breath but not really.

 _Not this again._

"Okay, fine."Ahsoka crossed her arms and assumed one of her "I'm annoyed" poses. Forget almos losing him... She was done with this nonesense again!

"What should I do,then? Since you _clearly_ know more about parenting than I do..."

"I just don't want to worry about you so much, mom!"Aidan waved his arms anxiously."I don't know! Take me with you next time... Or something. Just so I know that I'm not going to lose you."

Ahsoka thought about that. He wasn't wrong... She did exclude him from many missions for reasons only because of her feelings of attachment. She had to face the truth: Aidan was grown now. He could handle it.

He waited patiently, an eyebrow raised as she considered. "From now on, I will take you on every mission I go on. Except for ones that involve a certain Sith Lord. Is that good enough for you?" She thought this was a fair negotiation.

"Deal." He shrugged, trying to keep a straight face.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes and shoved him a bit. "Don't assume too much power, that was a one-time thing."

"There's a first time for everything."He retorted, shoving back and looking smug. "Including my first real mission. What's it going to be?"

"Oh, already eager are we?" Ahsoka pretended to think a moment. There were several things she needed to accomplish, none more paramount than the other. However, there was one little side expedition she had been meaning to take for a while...

"I think I've got an idea of where we're headed."

 **oooooooo**

To Ahsoka, it seemed like years had passed since the last time Aidan and she had been in a cockpit together, mother and son, flying to the ends of the galaxy together. Her sense of time had been extremely disoriented ever since being thrown into this huge civil war. She had to keep reminding herself that she only did it to keep Aidan and his generation safe- never for her own personal gain.

His air sickness had not yet set in quite yet, and Aidan was resting comforttably in the copilot's seat.

"So." He began.

"So..."She replied smartly, leaning back and mimicing his stance, minus the feet on the dashboard.

"Where are we headed?"He elaborated next,sitting up only to pull up a map of the star systems on the console. "Please tell me we're going somewhere interesting." He began naming off random star systems as Ahsoka rolled her eyes more and more.

"We just entered the Inner Rim. We're near Shili-that's home, right?"

"That is our home, yes." Though it was more accurate to say her home had been the Jedi temple, Ahsoka had done her best to put those days behind her.

"And we're equidistant to Onderon-"Aidan continued, unaware of the expression that had crossed his mother's face."I heard it's nice this kind of year."

Ahsoka was staring ahead at nothing, then snapped back into reality."No! Not Onderon. _Definitely not_ Onderon!"

Puzzled and taken aback, Aidan shrugged sharply and continued his searching."You know, for being only about 50 parsecs from Shili, their temperates are drastically different." He mumbled to himself.

 _Only about 50 parsecs..._ Ahsoka repeated in her mind. _Even I hadn't been aware of how nearly ineffective my running away had been. If Lux had chosen to, he could've searched me out easily,prematurely._

Aidan's chatter became background noise as Ahsoka tuned him out for the rest of the trip. She still hadn't said where they were really headed- in fact, her head was so swarmed with thoughts that she could hardly think of their true mission. _How carelessly he throws about his true home._

In a galaxy as big as theirs was, it was incredible to Ahsoka to realize that Aidan had been conceived and then born on two planets so close together...and that Lux and she had lived so close together.

"I'm sorry."She apologized once she realized how silent Aidan had become. "I didn't mean to yell at you."

"It's fine. I didn't mean to trigger whatever it was that I did."

"You didn't "trigger" anything- I just, have memories of Onderon. Memories that I don't like talking about. Hearing the name made me react in a bad way."

With that explanation, Aidan seemed even more dissatisfied than before but shrugged it off and went back to his looking through star systems. "So, where _are_ we headed, if it's not Shili, or Onderon?"

"We're going to Mandalore." She answered casually, making Aidan swivel around faster than Ahsoka thought was possible.

"Why the _kriff_ are we headed there?!"He exclaimed. Eyes wide in shock, and panic.

"It's the only way to get what I need."

"But Mandalore's like... Well, Mandalore! Don'e Mandalorians kill outsiders?"

"We're not going to _that_ part." Ahsoka assured him. "We're going to the capital. To Sundari." Her eyes narrowed and she took a deep breath, purging the memories from her mind.

 _If I want to find Rex, I have to start at the last battlefield he was on, and figure myself out from there._

"I guess it's been awhile since we've been there?"

"About sixteen years." Ahsoka agreed,subtracting in her head from the age her son was now.

"And why are we going there?"

"To find an old friend."

 _I am coming for you, Rex._

"Care to elaborate on this friend?"Aidan leaned back, again putting his feet up on the dash and making her threaten to growl.

But she maintained her composure. "You know him."

"I know a lot of people,"he replied flippantly. "And they're not all my friends."

"Such is the problem in this galaxy."Ahsoka sighed."Nobody knows how to be friendly anymore."

"'Cuz the Empire's busy tryna kill everyone."Aidan agreed, making his frustration known.

"War is never that simple."Ahsoka disagreed. "Sometimes, you have to accept that people think the Empire is the right thing. Don't start sounding too radical, that can be dangerous." But her words were easily read as: _I need to accept that myself. People like Lux who genuinely think they're on the right side now_

Aidan yawned and stretched dramatically, his long arms reaching nearly to the chair behind him as his mouth opened wide, revealing his cat-like fangs.

After his spectacle he casually stood up. "I don't know about you, but I can't stand sleeping in a chair."

"Go ahead and have the bed."She answered automatically, thinking back to when this was a common thing- her staying the pilot as he slept in back.

Only this time, after he was sound asleep, Ahsoka debated crawling into bed beside him like he was still a little boy. She could not bear the thought of being away from her son again for even a moment.

When Aidan woke the next day, he found his mother asleep on the floor beside him.

 **ooooooooo**

Sundari was a wasteland.

There was no longer a great city of even greater Mandalorians. No, it was just as bad as the war had left it. Mandalore was once again a group of warring factions.

As she and Aidan stood side by side on the very battlefield near the very place where Ahsoka had engaged Maul in combat years ago, wind whipping at their faces, Aidan was covering his face with part of his hood.

"It smells."Was all he said, and Ahsoka could tell his nose was twitching beneath it.

It indeed smelled: of decaying bodies and rotting flesh from the war it had seen, from burning sand and scorched flesh and plastoid armour.

Aidan leaned down to investigate what he thought was a piece of glass, but ended up being a broken visor of an dead clone trooper's intact helmet- with the head still inside. Sand spilled out as Aidan dropped it in a hurry and dashed back to Ahsoka's side, who had been marching through the battlefield, unfazed, but only to the outside eye as she continued on.

Inside herself, Ahsoka was silently crying as snapshots of the battle hitting her like bombs that she couldn't escape.

Men dying around her.

Soldiers screaming.

Aidan crying.

The young man behind her- Ahsoka turned to look at her son- was once a helpless babe away from his mother as she fought for him.

And then came Order 66.

No, Ahsoka refused to think about it as she stopped overlooking a canyon.

They would head around it, Ahsoka decided as she continued on. Continued walking to where she could imagine the once domed city.

Walking in circles, more like.

Aidan didn't complain.

Not once, as his mother forced him on wordlessly. Not a sound for their whole trek until-

"Mom." He spoke into the wind, hardly being picked up by even her Togruta ears.

She turned, having to lift also her hood to block the face-full of sand that was coming her way. It was coming in ridiculously unpredictable patterns.

Ahsoka found her way to Aidan's side, to where he was on his knees by something that he had dug up after tripping over it.

A gravestone.

With her name on it.

Aidan's fearful eyes were piercing into her, pleading for an explainable answer, but she had none.

She eventually joined him on the ground. Ahsok knew that if she were to uncover the ground just a few feet away, she would find Rex's grave, too. The grave with his false death written on it and the even worse assumption that she'd killed him.

And that he killed her.

And here was her son, looking for answers that she couldn't give, that she didn't have as she simply shook her head at him.

If she wanted to, she could dig up her old lightsabers. They called to her now, beneath layers and layers of sand beneath where Aidan was.

She would leave them be.

"That is my grave."She said, stating the obvious to him,"that is my past."

 _My past._

"You aren't lying to me. You really are my mother. My mother didn't die at the hands of..."He leaned close to the stone, brushed a few of the letters below her name clean.

"Rex."

The name sent a shiver down her spine. But not because she was scared- but because it had been years since she had last heard his name spoken.

"I am your mother."She insisted. "And I love you very much."

He accepted her answer with a silent nod. Aidan really didn't know how to react.

Mother and son remained there for a long time.


	5. Chapter 5

"I had a whole different life after you were born."Ahsoka explained when they finally began walking again. "One that I bet you don't remember."

Aidan kept his head down against the wind, but was also silent as he allowed her to continue at her leisure.

"I left the Jedi and traveled to the only other place I would be accepted. I went home to Shili. And I was accepted... Until you were born."

I only stayed on Shili long enough to heal from your birth. And besides, some of my fellows were still nice to me, so it wasn't too bad. I had plenty of help adjusting to motherhood those first few months- even though you were such a different baby than my Togruta friends were used to. You cried a lot, you didn't sleep through the night, and you ate a lot." She smiled to herself, while Aidan remained silent.

"The fact that you were so human made me an outsider. The rest of the Togruta, they just didn't know what to think. I was going to have to leave eventually. Once I held you in my arms, though, I knew you were the most perfect baby I could have wished for, and I didn't care that you weren't what I expected." She paused."You looked-still do, even-so much like your father."

You don't remember my identity as Ashla. You know my identity as Fulcrum, though. The two are not too different. In hiding, Ashla was who I became. Ashla, who was not hunted by the galaxy and was able to save her son a lifetime of violence...but I did a terrible job of that."

"No you didn't."He finally spoke. Aidan coughed harshly to clear his throat, then continued."It's my fault your life was ruined."

"No!"She turned sharply, stopping him with both hands on his chest." _Never_ say that, Aidan! You did _not_ ruin my life! You made it so much better."

"Did I?"

"Absolutely. Without a doubt. If I had to go back and chose between a future with you or the Jedi, I would chose you. _Always."_ A long sigh."I get tired of repeating myself on issues like this."

"I'm sorry I ever doubt you." His eyes, the only part of his face uncovered, moved to where her hands were still blocking his path. She finally removed them.

"What are we looking for,again?"

"Back when Maul was here, he didn't have a droid army, but he did have a single tactical droid he used for information, no doubt stolen from Death Watch or the Separatists. Now we need to find it and use it to locate an old friend of mine, someone who can help us with our current situation."

 _They asked for help finding a base._

 _I'll answer that call._

"And what if this doesn't work?"

 _Then I may never see Rex again._

"It will,"Ahsoka said simply.

When the reached Sundari, or what once passed for it, walking through the razed city was even worse than the wastelands.

What was once a place of people, of livelihoods, of families and friends and life, was now reduced to no more than rubble. The stench of death was upon it, too.

Kneeling down, Ahsoka pinpointed the exact spot where she and Maul had began their duel. Just meters away was where her men began to shoot at her.

It was as if she were walking two realities at once, the past and the present. Her body just wasn't whole.

"I don't mean to intrude, mom..."

Aidan's voice was hazy, as if unclear which time it came from.

"...But what happened here?"

Ahsoka blinked once in response. Aidan, who was facing her back, took a step closer. "Mom?"

Suddenly, as if sucked back through a portal, Ahsoka found herself back in the present. Away from Maul and Rex from the past, with baby Aidan crying in her mind. No, Aidan was big now. Aidan was all grown up and handsome, like his father.

"I fought Maul. And..."

 _This is where it all began._

Aidan was standing on the very spot where her plans had been foiled forever. Where Order 66 had meant to claim her. The very spot where it was decided then and there that Ahsoka would not be gettin back to Lux.

"Order 66." It was more a statement than an explanation. Aidan would have to figure it out on his own.

"I'll go find this droid head of ours." Aidan suggested, placing an arm on her shoulder as if checking that she was still there. "You stay here."

"No!"She insisted, suddenly. Grabbing his arm for dear life. Holding on- a mother desperate for assurance of her child's presence. "Don't leave me. The darkness, the pain, the past... It's calling."

Whether he understood or not, Aidan stayed. Even though she was only semi-conscious of it, his presence was anchoring her to the correct time.

Finally, she gripped his hand with a finality that proved her force-induced spell was gone.

But Aidan didn't let her go. He squeezed her hand tighter as they both moved forward now- force,when he he gotten so _tall?!_ She wondered- and their hands stayed clasped.

 _I'm here, mom._

Those three words meant more to her than he could ever understand. Those three words blocked out Maul's taunting voice, the blaster shots meant for her, Rex's orders, Aidan's crying, all of it! Because none of it mattered.

She was here. Now.

 _Aidan_ was her anchor.

She was hardly aware of the moment that Aidan had come across their prize, buried in the sand. He knelt down and checks its authenticity and condition, and then deemed it well enough to use.

To him, this mission was much easier than it had been for Ahsoka. To face her past, her inner demons... If he hadn't been here with her, if she had come alone...

She may never have returned.

 **ooooooooooo**

The _Ghost_ crew was likely confused with Ahsoka's allusion to a "great military commander" who could help them locate a base... Especially when her only guidance was the head of the tactical droid from her and Aidan's escapade. Kanan was understandably the most skeptical, and she had to forcibly demand his obedience in trusting Rex.

Yes, Rex.

Her heart ached to see her old friend, and deep down, the fact that he may refuse the offer gnawed at her.

She refused to doubt him.

Distracting herself with observing Aidan's annual fitness training check-up was an okay way to spend her time. She hovered around the gym, looking down at him as he towered over all the other cadets.

It was silly, really. Aidan was more than capable of all the basics they tested. The only worrisome thing was his weight, which had also been her own difficulty before truly developing into a full-fledged Togruta adult female.

Between her protein-heavy meat-only diet with Aidan's eating of a few vegetables and fruits every once and a while,he physically looked incredibly thin. However, on the inside, his body had an incredible amount of lean muscle mass which led to his underestimated strength.

Ahsoka leaned on the railing as she had done every year, and felt her mind carelessly drift to the other side of the Galaxy, where Lux resided. Would he be proud, seeing Aidan like this?

She may never know.

A pacifist, Lux had called himself once. Then the war had changed that. Then he had become a soldier, like his son one day would be.

 _No. I don't want my son being exposed to this kind of violence!_ Ahsoka could imagine him protesting.

But it's what he needed to survive in this galaxy, even Lux would need to admit that at one point.

She snapped back to reality just in time to see her son pin a fellow cadet to the ground after just a few moves: going for the back of the knees, just as she had drilled into his mind when he was a child. His opponent howled- he was an ill-tempered Chiss, one who Aidan often called just as bad as Ezra- but he never physically challenged Aidan, who had easily established himself as the top dog of the pack out of all the cadets.

And it may have been for that very reason that Aidan seemed to be virtually friendless, except for Leia, Ezra, and a boy named Landon.

Two of the three were rarely around to reciprocate his amiable feelings, anyway. So it was Landen alone who clapped Aidan on the back and led him through the door,just under Ahsoka's view, to the lockers. She could hear their laughter through her well-equipped montrals, and couldn't help smiling herself.

Aidan was somewhat happy in his life. When Rex came back-if he came back, Aidan would even have an uncle like mentor all to himself... A slight smile crossed her lips as she remembered when some men of the 501st had mistaken Aidan for Rex's son.

How wrong they had been.

Checking the time, Ahsoka realized that she needed to be returning to the briefing room... Off to discuss the current need for a new,permanent planet as a base for the millionth time. It was getting old, and everyone knew that. If it wasn't for the fact she respected her fellow commanders, Ahsoka would've wondered if she were the only one around with any sense. Without Rex himself to testify, nobody would listen to her proposal of his helpful knowledge.

She mentally implored of Kanan and Hera to hurry. Her senses spoiled nothing about how the mission was going, or even if it was going.

Commander Sato was, of course, in the patriarch position of the council room. Ahsoka was seated perpendicular to him, and Mon Mothma across from her. Other officials who Ahsoka really didn't bother to learn the names of-they were always being changed out- comprised the rest of the seats except for Hera's.

"Has there been any development regarding your militant friend?"

The question stung by now, as it had become more a courtesy than anything. Everybody knew the answer was no. Ahsoka detected a few sneers and whispers at the opposite end.

"We cannot keep waiting, Ahsoka."Mon Mothma scolded in that pleasant voice of hers. "There is little time before the Empire discovers our location, and without a planet to retreat to, we're easy targets for them."

"I sent Captain Syndulla and her crew to retrive him just this morning." Ahsoka assured everybody.

"Why not go yourself?"Asked someone else. "If he really is your friend-"

"I have to stay here and make sure that you will make no decision without me."She sent a pointed glare which made the human shrink in his seat just a bit.

The others looked as bored as Ahsoka felt. These meetings had long sense just become a pleasantry for the sake of keeping face.

"Leave us."Sato said suddenly, meaning the rest of the council, minus Ahsoka, Mon and himself. Now, they would be able to talk among friends.

"I can't keep them satiated much longer."Sato leaned in to say this as a sign of their comradship."They are growing restless, as you no doubt can tell. We have caught nearly half a dozen deserters in just a fortnight."

Ahsoka pursed her lips. "I have faith in Hera and her crew, as I know you do as well."

"Faith alone cannot do much in this war."Mon's soft voice again. "If they are not back in two days, we will have to make an executive decision, and even with both our votes, those in favour of staying will be outnumbered. Captain Reth is a perfect example, and seems to be the leader of the opposers."

"I'll tell Hera to hurry up. But it's the best I can do. As for the deserters-"

"I have taken care of them."Sato interrupted."Most are, ironically enough, pilots. I have them in holding until Captain Syndulla returns."

 _Another reason time is of the essence._

Ahsoka was about to say more, but the approach of a familiar signature outside the door stopped her. _Aidan._

"You also have my son to thank if this mission is a success."

"We are well aware of him." Sato said by way of agreement. "He exchanged a quick glance with Mon."With your permission, we are looking to give him a title."

Her eyes widened."A title?!"

"Field Lieutenant, Second class."He clarified."The boy has shown great skill in the tested areas, and has also been known to influence greatly the attitudes of many young cadets who are on the fence about deserting. And, he has long been asking for some action."

Just as quickly as it happened, Ahsoka's pride began to shrink. "What do you mean 'asking'?"

"For the past two years or so, he's been asking both of us for a chance to prove himself. And if Hera succeeds, it will be a nod to Aidan's ability to follow orders well and even take over, based on the report you gave." The woman smiled."As a mother, you must be so proud."

 _Proud..._ Ahsoka scoffed. _I'm... I don't really know what I am right now. Aidan has been asking this all along, behind my back? Oh, the nerve! And he just agreed to work with me, too!_

"I'm going to have to deny your request."Ahsoka said, to the surprise of the other two. "He's not ready."

"Ahsoka, with all due respect... We _need_ him. We need an upcoming generation of capable men and women who will be exactly what the Rebellion needs in command."

"No."Ahsoka repeated, again.

"You are outvoted."Sato warned. "We asked your permission as a courtesy... It is not needed to continue."

Ahsoka jumped up, infuriated."You will _not_ proceed until I have given you permission, _Commander Sato!_ " Ahsoka slammed both hands on the table, well aware of how it made her seem. Mon was already standing as well, ready to intervene.

But Sato stayed sitting. Calm, composed, just as Lux would be. And Ahsoka hated it.

"Very well."Was all he said.

Ahsoka stormed out of the room and found where Aidan was waiting outside. His own smile dropped when he saw her expression. "Mom, what's-"

"Come with me."She growled, pushing past him.

"I heard yelling."Aidan didn't budge."What do you mean to do-"

She struck, grabbing onto the lapel of his shirt and looking him straight in the eyes. " _Now."_

He had no choice but to comply.


	6. Chapter 6

"You think I wouldn't find out your plans eventually?" Ahsoka asked, pacing back and forth in front of Aidan, who was seated on his bunk. On the way over, the gears had clicked and he realized what he was in trouble for.

"Well, you weren't supposed to..."Aidan mumbled. "That was the point. Besides, this was before our talk yesterday where you agreed to _let me in on more of the action!"_ He emphasized the words intentionally, hoping to show the power of the decision they had together created yesterday.

"I know that. I just don't understand how you could directly disobey me and-"

"I wasn't disobeying you! I was just making sure they knew I was interested. What was the council trying to do with it, anyway?"

She sucked in a breath."They were going to promote you. Make you a lieutenant, second class, and have you be second in command to one of the field commanders." No use hiding that from them.

"Mom, you're kidding! You denied me of that?!" Aidan was on his feet now, matching her gaze and posture as he exclaimed in frustration and mumbled under his breath.

"You aren't ready for it."

"That's your opinion as my mother, not as my evaluator. I can't believe- that was my chance to finally do something with my life instead of staying cooped up here! I hate it here! Every morning, I get up, I do the same thing, while all my friends are out there making a difference! I could be with Ezra right now, doing _something_ other than staying here!"

Ahsoka blanched. She had known Aidan didn't like it here... but never the reason. Never why he felt so strongly of his calling.

"I guess I'll just hold out until I'm eighteen." Aidan huffed dramatically and flopped down onto his bunk.

"Leave me alone."He growled, staring at the ceiling.

Ahsoka didn't budge.

"Just do what you do best and _leave me alone_! Let me figure my life out _on my own,_ and somehow meet your approval!"

"Son, I didn't know that you felt that way."

"Yes you did!" He yelled."Everything I do is to try and meet your approval, to try and get you to notice me! Notice how hard I'm trying! Everything I do is to try and make you proud!"

Ahsoka was genuinely upset now, hurting for her son both from his words and his agitated force signature. "Aidan,I-"

"I thought we had worked everything out before we left for Mandalore." He rolled over so that his back was facing her, indicating that he was both vulnerable and pleading for help, but knew not how to get it. "I guess I was wrong."

Ahsoka had tears in her eyes that threatened to fall. Her worse fear was coming true-that she had failed her son. Failed Aidan, and she didn't know how to make it up to him this time.

"Aidan, I'm sorry." She took a step closer and heard him growl, the ultimate sign of fear and weakness. If he were to strike her, it would not be because he was mad. It would be because he didn't know what to do with the emotions he was feeling, made more dangerous by his mixed heritage and their different ways of dealing with anger. Togruta were predators- they would physically lash out at any sign of distress. Humans, on the other hand, would usually let their emotions out through words and tone.

At the moment, Aidan was well past that stage- and the extra testosterone was probably not helping matters.

 _He needs a father._

"Aidan, I'm so sor-"

Even her force senses couldn't detect what was coming next. With Jedi-like speed (and the help of adrenaline) Aidan's arm lashed out at her, at his mother, and backhanded her straight across the cheek.

" _Get away from me."_ A final warning.

Ahsoka finally obeyed, the tears in her eyes falling now, not out of pain from Aidan's strike or even the dark force energy that still radiated off of where his hand had struck.

No, she was again crying because she was regretful.

She stepped backwards out of Aidan's room, hoping that she would get to see him look at her before she left.

Her son had said something to her, something that still echoed through her mind in his tone of pure malcontent.

 _Everything I do is to make you proud._

When had she stopped being proud of him? When had she gone wrong?

Ahsoka paused in the doorway of her apartment and allowed all her most proudest memories of Aidan come back to her.

His first steps... That had been a big one. Those small little toddling shuffles across the ground as he held his arms out wide, and her own hovering just in front of him, ready to catch him if he stumbled. She had actually had to begin shimmying backward to compensate for the amount of ground Aidan was covering. And then, when he had finally teetered over and into her arms she had lifted him into the air and tossed him up and down a few times, allowing for his giggles and smiles to light up her world even more.

Obviously, he was too big now to toss in the air and catch again. But, Aidan was just a few weeks from being seventeen... Perhaps, she could make it up to him a different way.

She doubted Sato and Mothma would have gone back and their offer yet; no, they were probably waiting for her to come back and admit that he approved of their proposal. Even though it would be inconsistent to her typical decisions, Ahsoka would do just that.

She stepped fully out to the hallway now, leaving Aidan behind her. She could sense that he was asleep now, after tiring himself out emotionally.

He wouldn't be just Aidan when he woke up. No, he would be Lieutenant Aidan Tano, Second in Command to a field commander of their choosing.

And, guess what?

Ahsoka would be so proud. She would let go of her worry and her protectiveness and be _so proud._

And somehow she knew that if Lux were here, despite his "pacifist" way of thinking...

He would be proud, too.

 **ooooooooooooooooo**

Right after the confirmation, Ahsoka had received a comm call from Hera confirming that they were almost back and to be ready if she was to meet them. She also confirmed that Rex was with them.

Silently, Ahsoka prepared to slip away from the small yet still incredibly jubilant celebration and prepared herself to see Rex again. The only one who caught her escape was Aidan, who raised an eyebrow but she silently told him with her eyes, "I'm fine."

She needed to prepare herself for the worst, truthfully. Who knows how much or how badly Rex had aged in the past seventeen-odd years. He'd definitely have grey hair now, at the least. Oh, would he still be able to walk? To stand? Would he even remember her?

 _Be quiet._ She told herself. _Rex is not that old._

The only particularly old being Ahsoka had been around before was Master Yoda, and a few other Jedi Masters. But even Master Yoda made a bit nervous. Elderly people in general made her nervous for some reason.

 _So, if you're a captain... And I'm a Jedi... then technically, I outrank you, right?_

The scenario played through her mind almost naturally.

 _In my book... Experience outranks everything._

 _I doubt he outranks me anymore._

She remembered always worrying for the clone captain when she was younger, and how he always had her back. Before he had left Onderon, even, her brother figure had pulled her aside and confronted her about Lux.

"If he doesn't treat you right..."Rex had warned, and then made a show of spinning his pistols around his fingers and then sheathing them dramatically.

 _I mean, I suppose, given the circumstances, he did treat me right?_

Ahsoka managed to calm herself with the incentive that she was meeting an old friend, and regardless of what had changed physically, still nothing could come between them and their friendship.

She paced more, still anxious.

 _Will I even recognize him?_

She was still distracted when she heard footsteps behind her. Realizing that she had been facing the wrong way, she turned and was met with the Ghost crew. And-

The Force around her erupted with a force signature she hadn't felt for years. The sheer familiarity of it even made her tear up a bit.

Rex was _here._ Hidden from her view (likely for dramatic effect) but he was _here._

The man who passed through the path the Ghost crew had allowed him was no doubt Rex. Those golden-brown eyes, the powerful way he held himself, the instinctive way he faced her, waiting to be addressed or relieved of duty.

He had no hair now. Not even the blonde fuzz she remembered so well. No, he had a beard instead, comprised of more hair than ever on his head at one time.

"Commander."

That voice.

The voice she remembered.

"You got old."

 _Really, Rex? I haven't seen you in sixteen years and_ that's _how you greet me?_

She tried to hold back her smile. "It had to happen sometime, Rex."

He was surprised when she threw her arms around him in a hug. (She didn't know if Rex had even hugged anyone before). She held him tightly, but not enough to indicate romantic attachment. She hugged him like she did Anakin.

Rex was her brother.

Her brother was here. _Home._

No words needed to be said between them after that. Ahsoka would make time for them to catch up.

And as much as she didn't like to admit it... She was in Kanan's debt. Forever.

 _It's too bad they can't find Lux, too._ A tiny part of her brain said, cruelly taunting her.

Rex looked at Ahsoka, his commander. She looked back, and could tell he was still trying to get used to her new apperance- she was taller than him, now, even if old age had shrunken him a bit.

"Rex, there's someone you need to meet." Ahsoka said, effectively dismissing the also smiling _Ghost_ crew and letting Rex finally relax his stance.

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow.

 _I wonder if he remembers the rambunctious three month old that pulled at his chin and smiled wide whenever he was held._

Excitement built inside her as she led him to meet her son. Her pride and joy.

Aidan was alone in the meeting room she had left him in. There was evidence of the celebration, but none great enough for someone unfamiliar to the place, like Rex. The biggest difference of Aidan now was the fact that he had a uniform now, the light blue fatigues of a Lieutenant.

Her son turned around when she approached him, and Ahsoka heard Rex suck in a breath. " _Kriff!"_ He murmured. "Those are _your_ eyes!..."Them the captain's eyes widened further. "Aidan?"

"I'm not the only one who 'got old',"Ahsoka confirmed.

"The last time I saw you, kid, you were still in diapers!" Rex exclaimed, clapping Aidan on his back and shaking his hand vigorously.

"Yeah, don't need those anymore."Aidan said jokingly, gripping Rex's hand back just as tightly.

Ahsoka watched the scene unfold with great interest: she really hadn't known how their meeting would go. Aidan seemed happy, which he was extremely thankful for. On the other hand, she was also aware of his questions flying about his head.

 _Why this timing?_

 _Who is he, really?_

Just like she had to do when he was a baby, Ahsoka was going to have to tell Aidan that Rex was _not_ his father, despite all the rumours that the men of the 501st had begun, courtesy of Jesse and a few other mischievous brothers.

"You did good, Commander." Rex approved, looking at Aidan fondly, no doubt like a father would.

"It's General, Rex."

"Hmm?"

"I'm a General. I _definitely_ outrank you."

"She does."Aidan chimed in. Both adults turned to look at him. "What? Ask anyone on this base. Everyone will agree."

"General."Rex echoed, his voice lower as he no doubt remembered the last person he used that title for.

 _Oh, Rex._

 _If only I could tell you._

"I can say, for starters, that you raised a fine young man,"mused the captain.

"You've known me for five minutes!" Aidan exclaimed,"And suddenly you can tell my whole life story?"

"If you're Ahsoka's son, I have no doubt of it."

 _You have too much faith in me._

Aidan glanced at the time."I've gotta go. My first official briefing-"He could hardly hold in his excitement-"Starts in five."

Ahsoka nodded her dismissal. Aidan flashed her a smile before jogging off.

"You have a new assignment, Rex." Ahsoka told her friend as they watched Aidan's back shrink into the distance."The last assignment I have for you."

He looked at her with interest.

"Make him better,"she instructed."Teach him, like you did me. Lead him, in ways I can't. Give him the fatherly figure he longs for, since I can't. Will you do that for me?"

"Until the end."Rex agreed, too somber for her taste, but still with a smile on his face. It wasn't until he asked his next question that his face changed.

"Am I still not allowed to know who his father is?"

"You mean you never looked at the chip I gave you?"

"I gave you my word that I wouldn't."Rex reminded her."There was never a need to."

She thought a moment, considering her choices. Part of her really wanted to tell Rex, just so someone else could know her secret. Just so someone else understood why she made the choices she did. Just so someone else wouldn't look at her with distaste for having a son half her age.

"Not yet."She said."The time's not right."

If he was confused or annoyed by her secrecy, Rex didn't show it. He just followed her eyes, to where Aidan had long since disappeared.

"It would be my honor to be your son's mentor, and a privilege to be so trusted."

"He's strong, brave, loyal. But he's nowhere near a man yet. He needs an extra push that I can't give him. Something I know you can do for me."

"By this time next year, he'll be more than a lieutenant."

"You know that rank doesn't matter to me. A rank will not define my son's worth- nor will it make me think any less of you if it doesn't happen."

When she said that, she meant it, and she knew Rex could tell she did.

"Ahsoka,"he began, with a fondness she'd heard few times before.

"You haven't changed a bit."


	7. Chapter 7

Rex had to leave too soon after their reunion. But he left Aidan a gift: a training droid. Not one of the small probes that Ahsoka used, but rather an actual humanoid shaped virtual soldier,voice activated by Ahsoka, Aidan, or himself.

It wasn't unusual for Aidan to be gone when Ahsoka woke up. There would be evidence of him going straight to the training droid for an hour or two before he returned to clean up and start his new duties as Lieutenant.

 _It's a good habit to have._ Ahsoka told herself as she got herself out of bed. She traded her loose fitting sleep clothes for her usual dry fit tunic, then slid the armor pieces on one by one. It was almost a ritual for her.

On this particular morning she had to stop by the 'fresher before going out. Her cycle had started last night and she'd need some painkillers and supplies to get through the day. Exercise helped ease the pain as well- perhaps she'd try and get Aidan free for a bit.

With the Ghost crew gone, Ahsoka felt unusually alone in the world,especially with Rex leaving with them. Aidan, too, would be gone, sooner rather than later with the discovery of the new Rebel base. She refused to think about it.

With the training room so vacant at this time of day, Ahsoka had no choice but to train by herself. She envisioned a target, warming up with kicks only high enough to hit the knees of someone her height, the waist of someone smaller.

It wasn't until she was doing roundhouse kicks on her left side that the pain came up. Even with the painkillers, her body still ached from cramps and her hip because of how it had cracked all those years ago when she was birthing Aidan.

 _Being a woman can be so...painful._

But she ignored it, got used to it, continued on her morning until she was doing kata. She favored the ones with long, flowing movements that involved keeping her opponent at least an arms' length away from her, mostly by a lot of kicking. On the other hand, Aidan was much more of an in-your-face kind of fighter, which had its own advantages and disadvantages.

"You haven't taught me that one."

Ahsoka didn't respond until her kata was complete, finishing with a bow to her imaginary opponent before heading toward Aidan for a break and a sip of water.

"You wouldn't like it. It's very bird like."

"It had a lot of arms in it to be bird."

She cast a side glance at him, smiling proudly."You're learning. Want to do advanced sparring or-"

"Actually, mom, I- uh..." He cleared his throat."I came to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?" She knew it was coming, but so soon?

"They need helpers on Garel to establish a good location and recon the place. Nothing much, but I'll be gone a few weeks."

"Oh." She turned away.

"That's all I get?"

"No I didn't mean it in a bad way, I just... Can't believe you're going off like this, for the first time ever...without me."

He cast a sly grin."It seems that you've become an empty nester, mom."

"You have to move out first. And I know you won't be able to live without me keeping you organized- and making sure you aren't late to anything important."

Even as she covered up her inner thoughts with humor, inwardly, Ahsoka was upset. She wasn't ready to be an "empty nester". In a perfect world, she and Lux would've settled down with a whole gaggle of children and had a good twenty years before truly moving on to their next stage of life.

But, the reality was...

Aidan was her only child. Would be, unless she was somehow planning to have children in the next few years before it became biologically impossible.

"Just think about it, I'll be a grandma soon."

Aidan blushed dark enough to match her skin tone as Ahsoka enveloped him in a hug. However, he was also rejoicing at the fact that his mother would not be around to embarrass him as she usually did. Then again... He would miss her.

"Stop acting like you'll never see me again."Aidan scolded when they parted."I'll be back before you know it."

"Before I know it."Ahsoka echoed, and watched him dissapear.

 **oooooooooooooo**

Ahsoka spent her first few days alone really catching up on some of her meditation, which she had neglected in the recent past since her discovery of Vader's true identity.

Her sleep lately had been plagued with nightmares about the Empire's malicious moves to kidnap force-sensitive children in order to use them for their own selfish gain. It led to her wondering if her former master had found a new apprentice.

 _I wonder if they still want Aidan._

That first, terrible encounter with an inquisitor back on Thabeska...

It still haunted her to this day, as she learned that there were _more_ of them. So many more, doing so much evil!

The world of the Force was so dark and troubling, there was no use dwelling on it any longer. Nor was the fact that her son was out in the galaxy...without her.

 _Have a little faith in me,_ she could hear him say. Then her mind went back to that coversation the other day...

 _I just want you to be proud of me._

How many times had she uttered those words herself?

Repositioning herself from her cross-legged stance, she instead opted for her legs to go straight in front of her, letting her perform a big, catlike stretch that popped her back and shoulders.

It hadn't even been a day since Aidan left and already, she was missing him terribly. She had forgotten what it was like to be lonely; how dependent she was on company. For the past seventeen years,except a few weeks at a time, she _always_ had Aidan with her.

Now what was she supposed to do? There was no way to help him from a distance. Any help she had to offer would probably be refused out of stubborn pride,anyway.

She wasn't needed.

Now she understood what Anakin had felt like, sometimes, when she had refused his aid or when he was powerless to help her. When he was forced to watch her struggles from a distance such as when she had been kidnapped and hunted for sport by Trandoshans.

When she had left him...

Seeing as where she was now, Ahsoka regretted that she had never told Anakin the real reason for her departure. He could have provided a better life for her and Aidan, maybe volun-forced Padmé to shelter them- which wouldn't have been too bad.

But there was no way she'd ever let Anakin- _Vader_ \- see Aidan now. No way.

There was so much she had to protect him from. It was almost as bad as death to know that her greatest friend had become her most dire enemy.


	8. Chapter 8

Ahsoka stormed out of the meeting room and straight to her ship.

The base on Garel, she had learned, had been ready for a week now, and still, Aidan had not returned! Oh, she was going to drag him back here by his ears for leaving her like that. He couldn't get rid of her that easily!

Still fuming as she sat down in the pilot's seat, her world suddenly went black as she was met with a terrible vision:

 _A red, spinning blade,_

 _fear,_

 _screaming victims,_

 _and the crying of a baby._

It seemed like it had been forever since Ahsoka had last heard that sound. But, if somewhere on the other side of the galaxy, a creature with a red blade-it only could be a sith lord or an Inquisitor- was threatening a mere child...

That made Ahsoka's blood boil.

The vision was likely from the force because of her bond with the Inquisitors. Not a good kind of bond, rather almost a leash that alerted her if they were up to any trouble. It had to have been one of them, as they were the only two who carried a lightsaber such as the boomerang like projectile in her vision.

This murder seemed trouble enough that it was something Ahsoka couldn't handle alone. She had two possible locations from her previous investigation as to where the Inquisitors could be, given to her through her research into the Empire's (and the Sith's) next move. Ahsoka would need to have Kanan investigate one set of coordinates as he was the only other one capable of defeating such opponents.

She heard that Kanan and his crew was on Garel. Ahsoka would have to postpone meeting with Aidan for just awhile longer, Rex would stay with him in her absence as she went after the perpetrators.

Someone was going to pay for messing with children. As a mother herself, Ahsoka could relate to the frightened parents and would sure as hell fight back with everything she had.

She sent Kanan to the coordinates at Takobo. She pursued a lead at Chandel, later to meet up with them if their search was fruitful.

But she was too late.

Ahsoka found only the remains of a deserted passenger ship, still tainte by the dark side. Only one woman was alive- the grandmother of the crying child from her vision.

The child Ahsoka vowed to save, even if it was the last thing she did. She knew firsthand the fear of losing a child, it could only be worse to lose one to the acolytes of the dark side.

Ahsoka let that be her motivation as she flew to meet up with Kanan.

She would not fail.

 **ooooooooooooooo**

The inquisitors were still on Takobo when Ahsoka arrived, still trying to kidnap more children for their malicious, despicable purposes.

It was very fulfilling to see the inquisitors obviously grow anxious at her arrival as she stepped out of the shadows. They had likely heard of how Ahsoka had made short work of one of their kind before- and she was ready to do so again. They had a right to be afraid... she had been taught her lightsaber technique by Anakin Skywalker.

She wondered if Kanan and Ezra were feeling all the baby's crying like she was-as loud as could be in her mind, both motivating and distracting her at the same time as she fended them off, giving her friends time to get to safety.

For all his hulking size, the male inquisitor was not much to be afraid of. He was slow, and easily put off balance. Ahsoka easily fended him off twice before his companion engaged her.

The second inquisitor was noticeably more skilled, actually able to fair quite well against Ahsoka... for a bit. She wasn't as determined as the mother who fought not just for her own child, but for all of them.

"I know what you're trying to do with the children!"

The inquisitor responded with her short cackle of a laugh one that triggered even more of the protective feeling from inside Ahsoka as her adversary responded, "Who doesn't want to be a mother?"

 _If only you knew who I am._ Ahsoka thought, gritting her teeth and fighting harder. _And you are not worthy of being anywhere near children!!_

As she fought, Ahsoka caught sight of the Phantom out of the corner of her eye. She had bought enough time, and her friends would be safe.

Using her bare hands, Ahsoka performed nearly the same maneuver she had all those years ago on Raada. With the force as her leverage she called to the Inquisitor's saber, but instead of destroying it, rather just deactivated it and pushed her opponent straight into a nearby wall.

She may have had too much pleasure in declaring, "You're beaten!"

Not soon after, the appearence of Imperial renforcements made for Ahsoka to make a quick exit. In two bounds, she lept straight into the Phantom and left the two inquisitors fuming in her wake.

 **ooooooooo**

"It seems like forever since Aidan was this small." Ahsoka told Hera as she cradled the newly found Alora.

The two women had devoted themselves to be the infant's guardians as they returned to her grandmother. The others had all returned to Garel and left the Ghost to them.

"I can imagine." Responded Hera.

The baby's force sensitivity helped convince her of Ahsoka's goodness as she held her in her arms, enjoying that unique feeling that cane when holding a baby. It was nice.

"Except I don't think he was ever this calm." Ahsoka went on. "I mean, how old is Alora? Three months? Four?"

"She's not that old."Hera protested."She wouldn't be wrapped that tightly."

"Hmm, I guess you're right."

"I can't even begin to imagine what raising a child is like in the middle of this war." Hera said as she relaxed in the pilot's chair. "Although, at the same time... I'd probably not let the Empire stop me."

"You'd be a great mom."

Hera tilted her head, lekku curling inqusitively. "You really think so?"

"I _know_ so."

The Twi-Lek pilot may have pretended to take the compliment with a grain of salt, but Ahsoka could easily see the happiness radiating from her friend.

 _She'd make a better mother than me,_ she thought, looking at the sleeping baby in her arms.

"We should get her back to her grandmother soon. How close are we to the coordinates?"

"Not far."Hera answered, glancing at the navicomputer."Just a few parsecs." With the ship on autopilot, she was able to focus her attention on Ahsoka and the baby. "Poor thing."She murmured."Not even a year old and already having to run from danger."

"I vaguely remember life with Aidan before the war. " Ahsoka reminisced, gently playing with Alora's head of curly baby hair. "It was so terribly short, before I had to protect him at every turn. And now, he's so old and able to take care of himself and- Am I selfish for not liking it."

"Absolutely not. You're just a mother. It's your job to worry. I worry about the kids all the time, even though they're fully competent to take care of themselves."

For a moment, Ahsoka stared. Then she giggled a bit. "The kids." She quoted."Does that include Kanan?"

"Sometimes."Hera said, poker faced, then laughed herself.

It felt good to laugh. It was a rare occasion nowadays.

"Poor dear."Hera repeated when she took baby Alora into her arms. The sleeping baby did little more than stretch and snuggle right back into the crook of her holder's arm.

"See, you're a natural!"Ahsoka exclaimed, to which Hera responded with a sarcastic confused look."No way."

"You and Kanan should talk about it." Ahsoka went on, knowing it would only make her friend even more defensive of her current relationship.

As expected, Hera scoffed, but delayed her response for a heartbeat too long."We would never. I don't even think it's possible."

"Neither did I."Ahsoka shrugged. "Then the Force laughed at my unbelief. It just took one time-"

"Okay, okay!"Hera cut her off."Too much information! I get it, you think I'd be a good mom. But could you imagine Kanan with a baby?!"

It was certainly a comical thought, especially as he had been referred to as a "kid" just a few moments before.

"I've thought the same about Aidan's father. Sadly, that reality didn't come to pass."

Her face going neutral, Hera sighed sympathetically."You wish it did."

"Of course. I feel guilty about it to this day. You know, the boys fight for Kanan and Rex's attention now-"

"Wait. The boys?"

"Aidan and Ezra."

"Ahhhh. Just like brothers, those two."

Ahsoka had her suspicions about what really went on between her son and Kanan's padawan, but she supposed that some things are best left unsaid.

The ringing of the navi computer saved her from any more sensitive talk. It would soon be time to say goodbye to baby Alora, and wish her and her grandmother safety.

 _I wish there was more I could do. But we've no place for them in our militaristic environment._

"We should form some kind of safe place for force-sensitives." Hera voiced her thoughts almost exactly. "A safe haven, if you will."

"The danger is too great."Ahsoka refused."It would hardly be worth it." She added as they descended the ramp.

Before she had left for Takobo, Ahsoka had been sure to repair as much of the ruined transport as possible, in order to help Darja rest comfortably as possible. The ship was no longer dead in space- in fact, Ahsoka had even landed on the nearest planet to wait for her return.

As she watched the reunification from afar, Ahsoka leaned on the side of the Ghost's door and realized how unfathomable it was to her to even consider living old enough to be a grandmother, with grandchildren, no less. Right now, she lived every day as if it was her last. Her goal was just to see Aidan into his twenties. With that, she would be content.

Perhaps her goal was slightly pessimistic... But she justified it with everything she had seen around her. This was the toll war took. The ending of young lives, the destruction of homes,of families... It was impossible to verify none of that would happen to her.

She just had to believe that a happy future was possible.

And she would stop by finally going to visit her son.


	9. Chapter 9

Even after just a few weeks,Ahsoka's son had somehow grown into more of a man in the duration of their separation. He stood a few inches taller, his voice was a few pitches deeper, his blonde hair was now long enough to fit into a ponytail if he really wanted it to.

Ahsoka found it hard to approach him. Which was odd, given that she was his mother and by all means had no reason to be nervous around him. Nevertheless, she even felt a stark difference between her son, the boy, and her son, the man. So for a while she just observed him. Aidan really did have a strong sense of his father from the way he acted toward those around him.

He noticed her first- looked at her with those blue eyes identical to hers as he dusted off his hands, straightened his uniform and walked toward her.

"You're back."He observed, without much preamble.

"I had some business to take care of. There were some children who were-"

"Ezra told me about it." He interrupted, raising his arms to his hips and looking away for her, disinterested in what she had to defend herself with.

Alright, something was up. Ahsoka raised an eyebrow marking as she questioned her son, "Why are you so _moody?"_

"I'm not moody, I'm just...Distressed. Somehow, while you and Hera were gone, the Empire began mobilizing against us here. We can expect and attack any day now. I just can't believe that we allowed them to find out where we were!"

It was the Inquisitors. It had to have been. But how had they heard about the base on Garel... _oh._

"It was Ezra." It wasn't a question- Ahsoka knew Aidan well enough to sense that his anger wasn't righteous... No, he was mad at someone in particular.

Aidan gritted his teeth. "Yeah. It was."

So, her suspicions were correct. Aidan and Ezra's relationship was once again in tatters. Just as she had sensed on the Ghost just a few days before.

"We're preparing for combat." Her son leaned in closer, his voice low and a whisper. "Mom, we're not ready. "Then he paused. " _I'm_ not ready. You were right."

"It's too late for me to be right."Ahsoka protested."And you're wrong. You are ready, or else these men wouldn't trust you. " She gestured to those milling about fulfilling orders he had given. "Sometimes you just have to be ready. Rex knows all about it."

It was easy for her to dwell in the past,wish it was now, use it to teach her son. It was easy- but it wasn't ideal. It wasn't realistic anymore. If Ahsoka could chose between fighting the Empire or the Separatists, she'd choose the Separatists, as long as there was a different outcome than before. An outcome that didn't involve Vader, whoever he was.

"Besides, hasn't Rex been teaching you?"She asked,"he was supposed to be, if you had time."

"We worked on marksmanship. But I'm good at it."

"Have you done any hand to hand-"

"Mom, what _good_ is that?!"Aidan sounded awfully close to whining. "I'll shoot somebody with a blaster long before I punch them to death."

"But knowing how to fight with your hands could well save your life. Come with me-"

"I can't." He protested. "I have work to do-"

"An I outrank you!" She interrupted, the intonation of her voice higher."And I am your mother. You will do as I say. I am trying to save your life."

He finally relented, sagging his shoulders and dragging his feet as he followed, unable to escape his mother's wishes.

She was able to grab Rex to join them. The impromptu little family was walking toward the command center, faces grim as the prospect of war hung over them like a shadow.

"I don't feel like eating."Aidan mumbled when Ahsoka made a turn towar the mess hall.

"No one does, kid."Rex retorted, but followed his commander anyway. Ignoring food, Ahsoka sat them down at a table in back where they could be alone.

"The Empire has become more powerful." Ahsoka announced, shuddering from the presence of the dark side that washed over her as she said this. "The Sith Lord, the Inquisitors- they are becoming more reckless. And I now know that I must stop them."

"No!"Rex and Aidan both protested, almost in unison.

She knew ahead of time that they wouldn't take it well. As her son and her best friend, they had the strongest opposition to her plans.

"I have to." She insisted. "In order to keep us safe, I have to get them off of our trail."

Now, Rex had heard many of Ahsoka's various proposals before, some just as dangerous as this. He had no more reason to protest except for his own selfish wish to keep her at his side.

"But what about keeping yourself safe?"Aidan snapped. "Why don't you care about how we will feel if something were to happen to you?"

"I do care, Aidan. I care greatly!" But from Aidan's expression she knew there would be no convincing him of good intentions.

"Rex will take care of you while I'm gone." She told her son, who turned away in anger with his arms crossed.

"I don't need a babysitter."

The third party watched the mother and son with interest, brows furrowed as well. It was about to get heated in here...

"But you do need someone to keep you knowing right from wrong!" Ahsoka snapped right back. "You know how much I hate to leave you!"

"Whatever." Aidan abruptly stood up. "I have work to do rather than listening to this again."

Rex's arm shot out. Ahsoka assumed it was to grab Aidan and wrangle back in, but he instead sought out her own arm that she didn't realize was headed for her son too. Call it motherly instincts- Ahsoka wanted to correct her mistake.

"Don't."Rex advised, sternly.

"What do you know about parenting?!"She clapped back, trying to shake him off again.

"I may not have dealt with a son, but I have dealt with a distressed brother, and that's basically the same thing. So sit down and listen to me!"

Puzzled, yet also relieved, Ahsoka obeyed.

"The other day, Aidan told me about a nightmare he had. It concerned you not returning from the next mission you went on. So the moment you talk of leaving again-"

"Aidan isn't force sensitive." Ahsoka interrupted, but her voice was shaky. "His dreams don't mean anything."

"Do they, now?"

She refused to let his words phase her. "Rex. I know you don't want me to do this. But I must. Please, just take care of Aidan while I'm gone."

"Yes, sir, Commander." He said begrudgingly.

Ahsoka refused to let that phase her as she went to begin her own plans.

 **ooooooooooooooo**

The Rebellion was in tatters.

Aimlessly searching for a new base, they hardly made for anything in their handful of corvettes, occasionally accompanied by the _Ghost._

But Ahsoka was nowhere near it. She was looking for answers only the Force-and some good research- could provide.

The only problem was... she was distracted.

She had left Aidan on bad terms. Again. That never worked out well. And the fact that he was dreaming about her...

It almost made her want to go back to him and never leave again, even if Aidan was too old to let her do that. Besides, she had faith in Rex to keep him safe.

But when she closed her eyes, trying to go to sleep, all she could see was black. All she could hear was nothing.

And she had no idea how far into the future she was seeing, if it was truly the future. Had her son been cruelly blessed with a single harbinger of her doom, as punishment for his actions?

No. She would see him again. She _always_ came back. Time and again, she crossed star systems, fought disciples of the Dark Side, cheated death all to see her son again.

And even if the worse was to happen, she left Rex with him, the man who guarded her biggest secret- the message she had created for her son nearly nineteen years ago, as the clone wars still raged on,the Seige of Mandalore beginning,Order 66 still in the future.

The secret of her son's true name.

Aidan Lux Bonteri.

She had spoken those words to him but once when her son was mere minutes old, his brain not even comprehending the importance of the words bestowed into his ears.

Now, she wondered if she needed to go back, needed to make up with him before she may not return.

But it was Aidan who had stormed off when she told of her upcoming sojourn. It was Aidan who frustrated the peace weeks ago when he left her presence in fury.

Yet somehow, be it because he was still a teenager in her eyes, or be it because it was the truth...

Ahsoka blamed herself as she spoke three words to her absent son before jumping into hyperspace.


	10. Chapter 10

She had never been to Lothal before.

Its rolling green fields and blue skies- even the view from the atmosphere reminded her of Onderon. Yet the real attraction was that there was an old Jedi Temple located on the planet.

"I knew there were other temples."She told Kanan, eyeing the vast,unique structure. "But I also believed the Empire would have razed them all."

"Well, obviously they missed a few." Kanan shrugged. "Perhaps... It will eventually become a trap for us."

 _Or maybe..._ Ahsoka realized. _Maybe we are already followed._

Her worries were echoed in Kanan's order that Chopper stayed on the lookout.

Upon exiting the Phantom, Ahsoka finally took the time to confirm that Ezra was from Lothal. He had never said much about it, and if not for his fond memories of the place she would not have guessed.

The force power radiating from the temple made Ahsoka feel so incredibly powerless and small. She wondered if somehow, her past had painted her a pariah and led to the Temple making her almost uneasy, especially when Ezra announced that she and Kanan needed to open it.

"I cannot."she explained, truthfully,and somewhat uneasily."I'm no longer a Jedi. It was my choice, I left the order."

The boy looked as if he wanted to argue, but eventually stepped to the side of his master, and Ahsoka felt the force envelope the pair as the Temple yielded to their urges.

And the center began to rise.

It rose high.

Higher.

Too high to be what what was briefly described to her.

"This is new."Ezra observed, looking a bit uneasy.

The tone of his voice made her lekku twitch. If she had hair, it would stand on end. For some reason, Ahsoka felt like once she entered that temple; she would never exit.

Upon entering, Ahsoka expected to be confronted by the sight and smell of a place and burial ground forgotten over years and years. Instead, the atmosphere was the opposite- as if someone had been the temple's caregiver for the past years. Perhaps it was the Force itself.

Ezra jumped when the door closed behind them. Ahsoka's paranoia began to grow, but she carefully hid it beneath her questioning of the pair. How would they contact Yoda?

They decided the solution was to meditate, and the trio did, slowly drifting away to their own visions...

Ahsoka was fine with that. Meditating was the only way she ever found true,inner peace these days. When she was younger, she had a hard time sitting still long enough to effectively see into the force, but as she had gotten older so had her appreciation for the act. When Aidan was a young child she would use meditation as a way to get time to herself; Aidan had learned not to disturb her.

Sometimes it showed her what must've been snapshots of a life that could have been: not just Aidan, but a whole family of children, the boys looking human passing and the girls were simply what may be considered albino in the Togruta sense. Sometimes, it was glimpses of the past: often, when Aidan and she were having a row she would be involuntarily transported back to the moment when she first held him in her arms.

Farther still was her memories of Lux: his deceivingly strong arm lying across her body, his gentle voice trying, and failing, to convince her to stay forever, not just the night.

But now, in this forgotten Jedi Temple...Ahsoka's vision was something much different. It started out as nothing, but then a voice spoke into the darkness.

 _"Ahsoka."_

Her eyes squeezed shut. She knew who would face her if she turned around: the face of her old Master,Anakin.

"Ahsoka,why did you leave? Where were you when I needed you the most?"

Fighting the urge to look back, Ahsoka struggled for an answer. _I was alone, too._ "I made a choice." A foolish choice. "I couldn't stay!"

"You were _selfish!"_

No. "No!" Ahsoka felt tears in the corners of her eyes.

She wasn't selfish. No, not at all. Her choice was to leave so Aidan could have a life with both his parents. How was she to know that it wouldn't work out?

"You _abandoned_ me!"

 _I left you for Aidan! Oh, master, if only you could know the truth! If only you could understa-_

"You _failed_ me!" Anakin's accusatory tone grew louder and louder, making her more and more agitated.

 _No..._

"Do you know what I've become?"

"No." It started as a whisper, then crescendoed as the labored, robotic breathing of Darth Vader breathed down her neck.

"NO!"

And then she swung, aimlessly. Striking for herself, for Aidan, for the Rebellion, for Padme, for Leia!

Leia.

Poor, poor,Leia.

Ahsoka fell to her knees and sobbed.

 _I should have known what was going to happen to him. I should have listened to myself, to my vision all those years ago on Mortis... I should have read between the lines._

Regardless of the excuses Ahsoka could conjure, no matter how realistic and viable, she couldn't find a way to save Anakin and raise Aidan. Saving Anakin meant staying in the Order. Staying in the Order meant having to be separated from Aidan, if he was even allowed to be born.

It was a terrible thought.

 _It was my choice,_ Ahsoka told herself, hugging her arms around her chest. _It was my sacrifice._

Sometimes, sacrifices must be made.

 _I swore never to regret having Aidan. Now that I know the truth about Anakin, I can only look to save him. To correct my mistake._

 _I have to save him._

With that thought, Ahsoka rose to her feet. She wiped her face and did her best to cover up the fact that she's been crying.

"There's always a way."

She needed to get out of here before she went insane.

Dashing through the doorway, she eventually found herself reunited with Ezra and Kanan: the two had their own stories to tell, but the temple was about to destroy itself. There was no time to explain.

As she raced through the catacombs, Ahsoka was met with a familiar presence, and sensed Master Yoda's final goodbye before the temple came crashing down.

At least that put a smile on her lips. Somehow, someway, she knew that Yoda had to have known about Aidan, perhaps even before she had.

It also made her a bit upset that Yoda had appeared to Ezra and not her.

Nevertheless, they had what they came for. Ezra said that Yoda told them to find Malachor, a place whose name sent shivers down Ahsoka's spine.

The threat wasn't over.

Aidan's dream still might come true...

She refused to let that happen.

 **ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

The Phantom met up with the rest of the crew on Atollon. They had found a new place for a base and Kanan and Ezra were needed to help clear it out. Ahsoka offered, but was told instead to "enjoy herself."

Whatever that meant.

The revelation that Anakin was Vader was still clouding her mind, filling her with dangerous thoughts, but she knew if she tried to countereact them, it wouldn't work. The visions would only become stronger.

She needed to stay awake.

In an impressive two days, the Rebels had already built up a sustainible base, complete with barracks for the officers at the least.

Of course, Ahsoka could tell by the force alone exactly where her son was. But there was something about still looking at the nameplates on all the doors as she passed, seeing the names, ranks-

A. Tano 

Lieutenant, First Class

So, he had been promoted. Why, she didn't know, but was proud nonetheless. She had begun to let go of her son, let him be the charge of his own life, and it seemed he was doing just fine.

Moving stealthily on the soles of her feet, Ahsoka entered the small cabin that her son occupied.

 _Rex must've forced him to sleep._ Ahsoka assumed. _If my son is anything like me, nothing short of cuffing him to the bed is going to keep him down for long._

There was a small desk also in the room. Ahsoka brought the chair over to the side of Aidan's bed and sat down.

Would he even want her here?

 _I just want to show him that he didn't need to worry._

In a matter of days, Ahsoka would be to Malachor and back again, the threat completely over.

How tempting it was, to join her son in the land of sleep. Tempting, but unattainable.

Her hand reached across the gap and found its way to run gently down Aidan's cheek, making him twitch as if it was cold but then relax once again. His hair was still in its hairband, a possible indication that he had been forcibly knocked out by some kind of drug. It wasn't like Aidan to forget things like that before he went to bed.

As long as he wasn't doing drugs on his own, using them to sleep wasn't the worst. _Rex must've really had a hard time if he had to knock him out._

"I love you, Aidan."She whispered."You have been the light of my life these past twenty or so years, and I want to let you know how proud of you I am. I'm sorry if I do a bad job of showing it, but I am. And I need you to stop worrying for me."

Around her, the force enveloped her in a mysterious blanket, triggered by some other happening outside.

"Goodbye, my son." Ahsoka leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on his brow. "I'll be back in a few days."

As she left, Aidan stirred a bit behind her, opening his eyes.

It was time to leave for Malachor.

 **ooooooooooooo**

As expected, Rex offered to join her.

It was obviously an indirect way to try and get her to reconsider her leaving. But it couldn't work out like that. Rex would have no business dealing with a Jedi matter.

He even made a callback to their first conversation, saying "experience outranks everything." To that, she replied that she definitely outranked him, now.

He wished her the best before the transmission cut.

Rex's overprotectiveness wasn't in vain, though. Malachor was a dangerous place, considered off-limits to Jedi. In addition to the danger, Ahsoka still sensed that Rex hadn't stopped believing in Aidan's dream of her not returning.

 _I'm not going to die._ Ahsoka thought, referring to her brief conversation with the Bendu before saying goodbye to Aidan. _That's not what the force wills for me._

This new place, Malachor, was a similar atmosphere to the Temple on Lothal. It was something ancient, complete with ancient writing that Ahsoka was capable of deciphering. She was too late, though, unable to stop Ezra from touching the glyphs and sending them all plummeting through the surface.

Furthermore, the three of them were now positioned in a sith temple, and were confronted by another inquisitor, the eighth brother. Ezra was lost again below the surface, but was not injured, and would be a part of his own adventure.

The eighth brother was easily capturable. He was the weakest inquisitor so far, relying more on explosives than actual combat. In a moment of distraction, though, he was able to contact the other two inquisitors and begin an uneven fight.

However, the greatest shock of all came from the entrance of Maul, a Sith Lord long thought dead by Ahsoka, and many of her Jedi friends.

And he was _helping_ them!

Now it was the rebels who had an advantage on the three inquisitors.

An advantage that stopped all too quickly, as soon as the original mission was finished. The secret to the sith had been found: the sith holocron, holding all the answers to the sith. Then Maul had turned on them, blinding Kanan, and then being hurled off the cliff by someone he just maimed.

And then Vader arrived.

Vader, who threatened Ezra and attempted to strike him down.

Vader, who had destroyed the rest of the Jedi.

Vader, who was now her enemy.

"I thought I knew who you were. But my master could _never_ be as vile as you!" She shouted, her eyes threatening to let out tears of both anger and sadness.

"Anakin Skywalker was weak."Vader rasped."I destroyed him."

Ahsoka closed her eyes briefly, allowing her emotions to be shoved to the back of her mind. She could mourn again later. Now...

"I will avenge his death!"She vowed. She didn't care if revenge wasn't the Jedi way, like Vader had any reason to remind her of that.

"I am no Jedi." And she activated her sabers.

Fighting Vader was nothing like fighting Anakin. Sure, it was obvious that they were the same person, but Vader's style was more full of hate. His anger, always held dangerously at the brink, was now in full aid to his rage in fighting his old apprentice.

There were no more words exchanged.

Ahsoka sought to destroy Vader. To break him down until only Anakin remained. Then they would escape. She could save him.

She _had_ to.

And if she couldn't...

When they locked blades, and Ahsoka found herself staring into that dark helmet of his...

She felt like Vader- Anakin- was seeing into her very soul. Seeing her memories, her thoughts... her secrets...

 _Aidan._

Anakin hadn't known that she was ever pregnant. Had never met Aidan.

 _Aidan._

He had teased her about Lux Bonteri after she came back from Onderon. Teased her endlessly, and Ahsoka knew that it was only because he understood. He wouldn't have teased her if he had known the truth, known how much it would complicate her life.

"Is that why you left?" A voice came into the back of her head. "You left me, your friend, your _brother!- all for a senator of Onderon?! Did you know how I was hurting?!"_

This had to be Vader talking,invading her mind, not Anakin. These were not Anakin's words.

She could not let him know the truth. She couldn't let him discover-

"A son." Vader spoke aloud. "You have a son!"

She broke their blades apart, struck with renewed strength as she lunged away.

No!

"And your beloved senator?"Vader rasped. "He doesn't care about you!"

No!

"He doesn't care about you, or his bastard son."

No! How _dare_ he!

"You are not my master!" Ahsoka yelled, using the opening to trip Vader out, feigning a shot and leaping for his head.

He shoved her back easily. His mechanical body showed no signs of stopping, no signs of exertion like she. Ahsoka was sweating, her sweat mingling with tears as she shed tears for her master. For her son. For Lux.

Because she knew there was no going back.

Even Ezra's begging could do nothing.

She lept again, her cat-like body launching her far above Vader, her blade slicing through his shoulder and his helmet, exposing some of his scarred, burned face. Her momentum launched her to land meters behind him, her body hitting the floor.

"Ahsoka, hurry!"Ezra yelled. Oh, he thought she could follow. Thought she could leave Vader-Anakin- to die alone.

"Ahsoka." For a moment, Anakin was calling to her, not Vader. Their voices were one.

"Ahsoka!"

"Anakin." She breathed."I won't leave you! Not this time..."

"...Then you will die!"

Ezra was begging her as her way out was slowly closing. Her way out... her way back...

She couldn't.

She had to stay until the end, make sure that Vader would never be released to the galaxy again, never to hurt anyone ever again. Vader would never get to the Rebellion. To Aidan.

She would make sure of that.

"I love you, Aidan."

Ahsoka force pushed Ezra away as she heard him scream in protest.

And then the Temple exploded around her.

 **oooooooooooooooooo**

 **Author's note:**

 **I'm not totally happy with that last Malachor scene... Maybe I'll go back and rewrite it so it's less just a repeat of the show. Lemme know what you guys think.**

 **Now, there will be a break before the next chapter to this story as a little one shot needs to be published first, from Aidan's point of view. We are on our way to the next part of our story!**

 **May the force be with you,**

 **Dinui**


	11. Chapter 11

Ahsoka fought as the doors closed, even though it was a futile effort. There was no escape, and Vader was only interested in killing her.

A thought crossed her mind during combat: what if letting Vader kill her would awaken the Anakin still inside? Could save him for the future?

Was it possible?

She was growing exhausted, but the rapidly decaying Temple provided her with distractions, possible ways for her to evade and trap Vader, since killing him wasn't an option.

After assailing Vader with two more bouts of acrobatic assaults, she ducked, plunged her two white blades into the seams of light underneath her feet-

Then was suddenly-quite literally- yanked away.

 **ooooooo**

What happened next was mostly a blur.

She was pulled from behind into a vast environment void of light,accompanied only by a dark haired teen she knew was Ezra.

And having to stand behind him, talk him out of trying to save Kanan-

It was one of the hardest things she'd ever done.

After that, she didn't remember much more. She remembered the laughter. Horrible, malicious laughter that could only belong to that of a Sith Lord.

She remembered the lighting. Deadly strands of blue threatening to entangle them.

She remembered striking out with her weapon.

She remembered parting ways with Ezra.

And finally,she remembered diving through the portal she had been snatched from.

Emerging on the other side, she found herself able to catch her breath, for what seemed the first time in a while. Rising to her knees, she slowly opened her eyes.

What the _actual kriffing force_ just happened!

And why did Ezra look so much older?

It had only been minutes since she had seen the temple shut and remove him from her sight. Suddenly, he was pulling her from a magic portal and was appearing two years older!

It made her head hurt to just consider the possibility of time travel. Instead, she focused on a more pressing question...

Had she just _time traveled?!_

To Ahsoka, it seemed a miracle that she was even still alive, with or without time travel's assistance. But now, she had the possibility of seeing her son again... And she would seem powerless to protect him, especially as he was now on Vader's radar.

There was no reason for her to stay in this temple,surrounded by the dark. Not with all her questions answered.

Now...

She just had to make her way out of the labyrinth, and hope that one of the remaining ships was still operable. In a time like this she wished he had her usual own x-wing to fly: the memories immortalized inside comforted her, reminded her of what she would find once reunited with Aidan.

And suddenly, she was scared.

Obviously time had passed because of her trip through the portal. Years, even. What would the galaxy be like? Was the war almost over?

... Did Rex find out the truth? More importantly, did he tell Aidan?

She had left him the information on the hunch that something would soon happen. And happen it did. Now she wasn't sure if she wanted to deal with the consequences.

Maybe it was best to stay dead.

More than ever, Ahsoka wished she could go back through the portal that held all the answers. She vaguely remembered all the alternate realities shown throughout the various windows.

But she couldn't at the moment. Her surroundings were so unsettling- despite the explosion, there was hardly any actual debris, just a look as if a great wind had swept through the previously luminous room and washed away all the light.

 _So the explosion was supernatural, then._ Ahsoka realized.

That meant the rest of the temple was intact, and that Vader could very well have made his way out of here and be back at his command ship, believing her dead.

A walk back to the temple's entrance revealed all she needed to know: Vader's TIE was gone, but three others remained an looked intact enough to get her back to base.

Disgusted once more at her failure, Ahsoka turned back inside and began wandering for a new path.

 _What if I can travel again? Correct my mistakes?_

 _Even those from decades ago, like leaving Lux._

The next thought hit her hardest of all and caused her to walk faster, into the depths of the temple.

 _I could keep the three of us together. And then maybe three will become four. Or more..._

The excitement was almost too much. But that excitement quickly faded to incredible disappointment as she realized it was simply too good to be true. When she returned to where the portal had been originally...

It was gone.

And with it, Ahsoka's hopes of redressing the past.

When she placed her palms flat on the wall, she felt nothing but cold stone. Cold stone which suddenly seemed so comfortable as she slid down, her exhaustion now overpowering. She had no food, and she needed to rest...

But if she closed her eyes, would she wake up? The force was so invidious around her, it would likely take advantage of her if she slept.

And she just didn't have enough energy to travel back to the ships and rest there. Ahsoka would have to regain strength through meditation.

Through meditation, she focused on something that made her happy. She focused on Aidan.

The poor boy was distraught. He was lost. He was _angry._

Ahsoka could read his thoughts if she focused enough, and was astonished at the amount of hatred Aidan bore toward his father that wasn't there. She heard the way he cursed Lux's name, and it hurt her.

On the other hand, Ahsoka wasn't too clear about Lux's present life. She hadn't checked up on him in forever. It felt too close to intrusion.

Her thoughts drifted to the past, to the happiest moments she could conjure. To what she treasured in her heart. To Aidan, to her cherished time with Lux...

Peace washed over her and she began to recover.

 **ooooooooooooo**

It was hours before Ahsoka made her way out of the temple for the final time.

Even though the TIEs were Imperial grade, the general controls were the same, and the one she chose even had a hyperdrive, which Ahsoka took full advantage of.

And in the flight over, she was rehearsing lines to herself on a numerous amount of subjects: how she would talk to Ezra in wake of his deceased Master, to Hera about her deceased husband, to Aidan about...

Well, of that she wasn't quite sure.

She wondered if he still mourned her.

Regardless if he did or not, Aidan would be the first person she found unless her body gave out on her: and if she wasn't able to figure out how to page the Rebel ships into letting her pass. They would no doubt need identification, and the tricky thing was that it had been so long since the last time she'd made contact with them. Maybe she would get lucky. Maybe Hera would be out with the Ghost and she could just dock with them?

It was too bad that luck wasn't on her side today.

As expected, she was treated as hostile the moment she entered Rebel space, frantically trying to get a transmission going. Even harder was to get the poor person on the other side to believe who she was.

In fact, she was transferred to three different deck officers and gave twice that many clearance codes before she was allowed to pass freely.

When she finally opened the cockpit door, her surroundings began to swirl. It was as if whatever was in control of her, be it her brain, the force, whatever, had decided that she was finally safe and it was time to stop fighting.

Someone must have alerted Rex that she had miraculously returned, because she was just able to make him out to be running toward her, Ezra at his heels as she swayed upon putting a foot on the ground.

She collapsed, unconscious, without even knowing if Aidan was coming,too.

 **Author's note:**

 **Yeah, sorry guys for the long wait and the short chapter. I really have no excuse- I was hopefully able to alleviate some of the wait with the one shot I uploaded a week or two before this.**

 **Long story short; my health has really plummeted, and school has become much more strenuous on top of that. I think I may have it under control, now. Updates should happen again.**

 **May the force be with you,**

 **Dinui**


	12. Chapter 12

Rex was waiting for her when she woke up. After a few hours of IV, her hydration and nutrition levels were back to normal and she felt less sick and faint.

The knowledge of everything that she had been gone for -two years, in only what was a few days to her!- was still being explained to her, and was even more tragic than she had imagined.

All those lives lost when Thrawn had come to drive them off Attollon. And Kanan...

She still couldn't believe it, even if she had watched his final moments during the War Between Worlds.

Rex's speech grew to be no more than background noise as she fidgeted and sat up farther. She did _not_ belong cooped up in this bed. She belonged out there, helping.

"How much longer do I need to stay here?"She asked Rex, even though she doubted he would give her an answer that she would want to hear.

"Until you're ready." He said, as if that cleared it up. Ahsoka was no medic. Fair enough. If Rex didn't want to answer her questions, then fine. She would just retreat into her own world and-

"I didn't tell him."

The statement took her off guard, making her blink dumbly a few times before registering the subject.

"I didn't tell him who his father was- is." Rex elaborated. "He wasn't ever in the mood. And we all held out hope. Him especially. I didn't want to give up on you, but after two years..." His voice faded and he choked up. Ahsoka placed a gentle hand over his.

"Thank you." She said, simply, and that was all he needed to hear.

"Do you want to see him?"

She looked out the window, into the vast nothingness of space.

"I don't know."

"Ahsoka, you know-"

"He'd probably not want to see me." She said. "It would probably seem like a cruel joke. I don't want him to be mad at me."

"It's been too long. He wouldn't be mad. If anything, he would _understand._ I know you find it hard to believe me, but the amount of times I have heard him wish for you to come back- still- is more than I can count."

Ahsoka opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of running footsteps coming toward her and then skidding to a halt.

Ezra must have gotten word of her awakening. Hera, too, as the Twi-let pilot was right behind him, muttering words of disbelief even as advancing for an embrace.

Ahsoka gladly accepted one from both of them, but was a bit surprised when the force seemed to be a little ...off... as soon as Hera touched her.

But whatever investigation she wanted to do was put off by the onslaught of questions.

Questions she had already answered for Rex, and she really didn't want to answer again.

"Where's my son?" She demanded of the newcomers. It wasn't that she had a change of heart and suddenly wanted to see him. She still wasn't brave enough for that. But she did want to be able to find him when the time was right... And also needed to know if anything was amiss. "Is he really okay?"

Was it just her imagination, or did Ezra's eyes get bigger? Was he hiding something?

"He's been hanging out with Landen a lot." The boy said, and didn't even try to hide his jealousy.

 _Oh_.

Looks like she wasn't the only one who was away for too long. The relationship between Aidan and Ezra seemed to be quite strained by the looks of things.

Hera quickly butted into the conversation. "Your son is doing great, Ahsoka. I know you don't like it, but he's much more involved in the planning and such now. In fact, he and Ezra were solely responsible for taking back Lothal a couple of days ago."

Ezra huffed audibly, making Rex shoot him a glare. Hera noticed her crew member's responsible as well, and seemed equally offended.

"Why didn't you let us know you had survived?" Ezra asked again, as if suddenly she would answer. "We had a bond, the three of us! These past two years could've been a lot better with your help!"

It was obvious what he was referring to. "I couldn't send a message even if I wanted to. I was only gone for two days. How would that have worked?"

As they hadn't known before hand, Ezra and Hera seemed equally surprised at the revelation: the fact that her side of the story was in fact, quite different, than they could have imagined. "Two days?" Hera was the first to recover. "All of this has happened..." (Ahsoka _definitely_ noticed the hand briefly skim her abdomen) "And you only have been away for two days?"

"I _don't believe you!"_ Ezra suddenly exclaimed, shocking everyone. "I saw you in that portal, you saw me. You saw Kanan _die!_ How could you just leave us after that?! We _needed_ you!"

Ahsoka kept her face as emotionless as she could, without betraying the hurt she really felt. Ezra had a right to be angry. She understood his frustration. But...

She didn't get to respond to him in that moment, because Hera made Ezra leave and sent Rex to finish telling him off. She herself turned to follow, but hesitated.

"Ahsoka, I need to talk to you about something. It's not about the past -well, actually..."Her friend paused a moment.

Ah, it was time to address the gundark in the room.

"I'm not mad."Hera went on."I believe you, about the whole two day/two year thing. I'm not sure if Rex filled you in completely, but I'm here if you want to talk about it. Right now, I think I should just let you sleep.."

"Hera." Ahsoka said as soon as she had a place to jump in. "I know that's not what you _really_ want to say. I'm not too tired or sick to talk to you."

The two women locked eyes, and the knowledge passed wordlessly. Hera relented first due to the tears building up a she couldn't hold them in any longer.

Ah, there it was. The _denial._ The struggle to try and hide it from the ones who knew you best; what Ahsoka had struggled for the entirety of the mission before the fateful return to Coruscant...

When Ahsoka really focused, she pinpointed the strange feeling from earlier: Hera's force signature had changed to be tainted by the unborn babe inside her. Kanan's unborn babe, too.

"I knew I wouldn't be able to hide it from you." Hera sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"Not "it"", Ahsoka corrected. "A baby! She or he."

"A baby."Hera half confirmed, yet seemed astonished. Then the Twi'lek looked to her. "Do you know if I'm having a boy or a girl? I think Kanan knew, before he..."

"I can tell." Ahsoka said."But do you really want to know? The surprise is the best part! I remember when I was first told Aidan was a boy after he was born, it was one of the most awaited moments of my life."

A short pause. Then...

"I want to know." Hera insisted, "I can't wait fourteen more weeks. And if I know, if I pick out a name... It'll be harder for me to think about the other option. It'll be harder for me to doubt myself."

"Oh, Hera!" Ahsoka breathed. She would've gotten out of bed and enveloped her friend in a hug if she wasn't hooked up to monitors. She gently tugged her forward for a hug instead. "Hera, no. Don't think about that. Every baby is a blessing in disguise."

"But I'm alone!" It was as if Hera forgot everything about Ahsoka's past as her tears began to fall. "I can't do it, Ahsoka! I can't raise a baby without him!"

"But if you chose to terminate your pregnancy, you won't have just lost Kanan, but your baby will die, too. Do you really want that?"

"No." Hera sobbed. "No. I don't want to lose them, too."

"Then look at me." Ahsoka waited patiently. "You are not alone, Hera. You can't see it, but Kanan is here. Now. He's hurting for you. He _misses_ you! And he's asked me to help you, to stay with you, which is something I'd do anyway."

Ahsoka wished it was possible to prove this, to somehow project Kanan's phantom image to her.

"You are not alone, Hera. _I_ was, and the force will strike me down if I leave your side."

She couldn't tell if Hera still cried, but her body still shook against hers. She really hoped Hera would make the right decision and keep her baby. There was really no reason in her mind why she wasn't strong enough to do this... She had the love and support that Ahsoka craved during her pregnancy.

"Ahsoka?" Hera asked.

"Hmm?"

"I can't do it."

Ahsoka's heart sunk at the news, but she stayed silent. But she didn't realize Hera wasn't finished.

"I can't kill my baby." Hera added, then looked up at her friend and smiled, and for the first time out in public, affectionately touched her still flat stomach. "I'm going to have a baby." She declared, then her eyes widened. "Oh, force! I'm _going to have a baby."_

For a second, it was like the two of them were just two normal friends in a galaxy untouched by the malevolence of war. For a moment, they hugged and exclaimed and even squealed with excitement, already talking about baby names and baby items and "oh did I ever tell you the story about when Aidan was a toddler and did all these stupid, adorable baby things like unzip his nappy and run around naked?"

She would've told more stories if the door hadn't interrupted.

Familiar blue eyes peeked in, almost hidden by blonde bangs that needed a trim. They settled on Hera, then moved to Ahsoka and stopped. Blinked.

Aidan tentatively began crossing the room; not breaking eye contact. The air was so intense, Ahsoka couldn't tell if she were about to be slapped, or rejected entirely.

The readout of the vitals monitor was enough to prove that she was alive and began to exclaim urgently when some of their wires were forcibly removed by the motion by the bone crushing hug her son offered, not even caring that her heartbeat wasn't being picked up anymore. It didn't matter. She had her heart back. Her _whole world_ back!

His hair was longer. Perhaps getting to the point where it was even too long for her to handle. But besides that, he was the same as when she had left. That smooth, yet still masculine jawline from his father that ended up being his mother's chin. There was still no sign of a beard on the cheeks that she rand her hands over.

"Mom, I didn't believe them. I'm so sorry-"

"Shh." Ahsoka interrupted, meeting his eyes again. "I'm the one who should be apologizing."

"You couldn't help it. You were dead."

Ahsoka couldn't tell if he was serious or not. "It doesn't matter if it was two days, two years or two decades, you can sure as hell bet that I'd always find my way back to you as long as I'm breathing." She cupped his cheeks again, then laughed almost giddily as she embraced him again, ignoring the pain until it became to much and she finally winced.

"Oops."

And there he was, still young, still clumsy.

Still her son.

"And I was just about to tell Hera about how mad I thought you were going to be." Ahsoka told her son and smiled at him and Hera, who ha watched their reunion with just as big a grin, still cradling her belly.

"Oh, I'm still mad. But I forgive you."

That cheeky Lux smile. The one she'd thought she'd never see again unless it was her dreams in the netherworld.

"Do I really need to make you promise not to leave me again?!" He exclaimed, and began his lecture. " _Every_ _single time_ you go off and do something stupid, or reckless, and here I am worried sick about you, wondering if I should have said goodbye then _crying myself to sleep_ when I realized I didn't!"

Only Aidan would admit something like that. Only her precious little boy.

"I love you too."She quipped. "And you can just _try_ and beat me later. I doubt two years will make much of a difference."

His eyes narrowed at the challenge. As the bystander, Hera began to wonder if this was a bad idea to let things get this normal between the mother and son... But soon left them in peace, smiling.

Ahsoka made sure to say I love you at least seventeen times that day, and Aidan refused to sleep anywhere but a chair beside her that night. (He was only a little abashed by all the affection he was subject to in front of the emotionless droid audience).

Would the peace last?

Probably not.

But Ahsoka didn't care.


	13. Chapter 13

Ahsoka's return from the dead sparked an onslaught of many different questions from the people who knew her, but ultimately led to the share feeling of relief across the rebellion.

She stuck close to Aidan now, let him call the shots, and if she weren't with her son then she was with Hera, supporting her as someone with the experience of a mother and a friend.

She had gone with her to her first ever ultrasound, which unintentionally brought back bittersweet memories for her, and made new ones as well. She was glad she had been able to help Hera through a difficult season of her life.

Meanwhile the rest of her life was occupied by endless meetings of people who didn't believe her recovery. Mon Mothma had called an emergency meeting of the council to prove the claims, which led to a near interrogation that Ahsoka didn'r appreciate. Interrogations always reminded her of being on the floor of that senate court room, while her fate was decided.

Their new base on Yavin seemed adequately hidden, and likely the biggest of any of the Rebel bases Ahsoka had been a part of. The ambiance of the new planet bore a painstakingly similar environment to Onderon. So much so, that if she was alone she could almost relive the events that transpired there.

If Aidan was aware, he didn't pry.

"They've decided to go through with the attack on Lothal." He announced, sitting beside her on the hard concrete of the top of the great pyramids. "I talked to Ezra this morning. He seemed pretty confident that it would go well."

"I thought you didn't like Ezra's overconfidence."

"There's things I don't like about Ezra." Aidan agreed."But that doesn't matter as much now."

"Tell him to look after Hera." Ahsoka did her best to keep the conversation going, but found it hard to stop the smile on her lips from forming as she thought about everything new around her. Everything she had noticed since her return.

"Why?" Aidan was still in the dark about Hera's pregnancy.Then again, it seemed that Ezra hadn't found out either, or he would've told him.

"Just because."

"Ezra looks after everyone." Aidan said which wasn't really an answer to her question, but was another answer to an assumption she had been harbouring awhile.

"I thought he was with Sabine."

"Hmm?"

"I didn't know you two were together." Ahsoka rephrased. She scoffed a bit and raised her eyebrows. "Gee, I really did miss a lot."

"We aren't 'together' together." Aidan made the necessary air quotes with his hands. "I don't like him that much- just a crush is all. I'm not sure about him. I do like girls,too."

Not one knowledgeable about relationships in general, Ahsoka was just happy for her son, regardless of his feelings. "You don't need to explain yourself."

"So you're okay with it?"

"Okay with what?"

"...Me liking guys as well as girls."

"It's an interesting way to welcome me home, but, yes. I am definitely "okay" with it." As he had earlier, Ahsoka also added the air quotes.

"I didn't realize it until after you left." Aidan said, as if that was another part of the narrative. "Ezra and I really took comfort in each other, and he was really beating himself up about it. I don't think he ever slept unless I was there to reassure him."

"It doesn't matter when you realized it. That doesn't change anything."

Her son didn't give any kind of recognition. At this point, he looked away, as if ashamed, and his sudden silence made her realize she may have said something wrong. Or maybe it wasn't her but... someone else.

"Aidan, did somebody say something?" In a bid to comfort, she scooted closer so she could put an arm around him.

"Rex." Aidan said.

Ahsoka had to admit, she was _shocked!_ And infuriated! "Rex?!"

He nodded. "He said- wait, mom!"

But Ahsoka was already standing up and climbing down from their perch.

"Mom!" Aidan yelled again, but he was just growing smaller and smaller in the distance as she ran.

Only when she rushed into the docking bay did she realize she was too late. Rex, along with the Ghost, was gone.

"Mom!" Aidan rushed up behind her, breathing heavily."All he said was that he didn't think Dad would approve."

Still just as mad, it took a moment for Ahsoka to form a coherent response. "He told me he didn't tell you who your father is."

"He didn't tell me "who" he was, just that he wouldn't approve of me."

 _Wouldn't approve of me._

"What a load of bantha dung!" Ahsoka exclaimed, her eyes still narrowed as she paced back and forth. "He had _no right-"_

"Mom."

 _"What!"_

"Is it true?"

Ahsoka really wasn't sure how to answer that, so she decided to choose her next words carefully.

"Your father lived in a very strict culture. One that frowned upon things like underage drinking and same sex relationships and having sex out of wedlock. That's part of the reason I didn't immediately reach out to him when I discovered I was pregnant."

"But he was willing to have sex with you. That's something, isn't it?"

She shrugged."I can't speak for him, Aidan. But if being of a different sexuality is the only thing that your father can see you as, then he's not the man I fell in love with."

Those words struck Aidan more than anything else. His mother had never _ever_ said anything that may diminish his father's goodness before, no matter what terrible things he said.

It was because of that that he could tell she was serious.

Their current altercation remedied, Ahsoka meandered to the side of the docking back, in a spot overlooking all the ships in the hangar. Aidan joined her, dangling his feet over the side like a little kid.

"Something else is bothering you."

It wasn't a question.

"The Empire released a new list of wanted men and women."Ahsoka said. "What alarms me is how many of them I know."

It was a white lie.

The real reason Ahsoka was upset was because the last time she had looked...

Lux was on that list.

And she had no idea how to find and help him.

"Who's on there?"

"Just some old friends."

He knew better than that. His mother was hiding something. Overly curious, Aidan took matters into his own hands and pulled out his data pad, looking up the list for himself. Looking his mother in the eye to try her for reactions, he read the list aloud.

But she never reacted. Ahsoka had trained herself not to long ago, especially not to Lux's name

"Fugitives, the lot of them." Aidan concluded, tossing the data pad beside him. "There's gotta be something to be done."

"Aidan, these people probably want to be left alone. To be out of the war, not immediately on the other side."

 _Or at least I know that's what Lux would want._

"I just don't like seeing you upset is all." He would have made more excuses, but his comlink chirped and called him away.

Little did Ahsoka know, this recent revelation would eventually lead to one of the biggest changes of her life.

 **ooooooooooooooooooo**

After a few months had gone by, Ahsoka had permanately stationed herself by Hera's side for the end of her pregnancy, mostly because she knew what it was like. She knew what her friend was going through, right down to not having her baby's father at her side.

Despite being mere days away from her due date, Hera was still as active as Ahsoka allowed her to be, even piloting every once and a while- with Ahsoka as her copilot, of course.

Scarif had almost been a disaster. Hera had somehow gotten her way and flew straight into the fray while Ahsoka was protesting the _entire_ time. And, as if proving she was right, Hera had begun to experience a bout of false labor, forcing her back to the base inside the Phantom, leaving Ahsoka the only pilot experienced enough to keep the ship intact for the battle.That was the end of Hera's missions as a combat pilot until further notice.

Hera would never admit it, but she was glad for her shadow. Without Kanan around, there was no one she'd rather have by her side.

Usually, after making sure Hera got to sleep, (You're such a mom, the Twi-lek pilot always said) Ahsoka would head back to her own quarters to sleep.

Tonight, however, as she eased her friend down and helped her get comfortable, Hera took hold of Ahsoka's hand in a sisterly touch.

"I... Have a feeling." The soon-to-be-mother rubbed her other hand over her belly. "I think he's coming real soon." She had been experiencing contractions all day, but they never were closer than ten minutes apart.

"Then you _really_ need to sleep, Hera."Ahsoka said, calm,yet urgent as she peeked into the force to confirm or deny Hera's suspicions.

There was no need hiding the gender of Hera's baby- Hera had chosen to find out as soon as possible and would sometimes already refer to him by her chosen name of "Jacen". The regular prenatal scans (they were so foreign to Ahsoka, she didn't have access to those when pregnant with Aidan. Seeing a baby's growth like that fascinated her!) had shown that baby Jacen was well his way, orientated in the right direction and all that. It was just a matter of time.

"I don't know if I can." Hera shook her head slightly and pulled one of her supporting pillows closer, wincing and tightening her fists around the blanket.

"Trust me, you'll want it." Ahsoka was careful never to describe her labor and delivery in detail, but had made a mental checklist of some sort to make sure Hera's was much more comfortable... If that could be a thing. A "comfortable labour" seemed a bit oxymoronic.

Hera looked as if she doubted her. Her lekku twitched nervously and she continued to rub her belly.

" _Relax."_ Ahsoka spoke audibly, to Hera, and through the force, to Jacen. " _Sleep_."

Whether from her words or her true feelings of exhaustion, Hera obeyed. So did baby Jacen, for now. Kanan's force sensitive son was already a handful before he was even born.

Kanan.

It was truly the Force's idea of a joke that he couldn't be here.

 **ooooooooooo**

Hera didn't make it through the night.

By early morning, Ahsoka was trying to coax her up and out of bed in order to keep her moving as long as possible. For Ahsoka's own labour years ago, she had stayed stationary on her back for the entire time, and it ended up being the worst decision of her life.

But Hera wouldn't budge.

Ahsoka could tell she was breathing well through each new, very real contraction, but she also knew they would only get much worse from here. Much more painful, if all Hera did was lay here.

"Hera, sit up. _Please_. Your self in a few hours will thank you."

And so, Hera used the next recovery from a contraction to ease up on her hands and settle into the variety of pillows Ahsoka had created for her,effectively reducing the pessure on her back and allowing her to breath easy again.

"Ahsoka."She begged.

She was there in an instant, one hand into Hera's as she listened to her plea for Kanan once again, similar to how Ahsoka had cried for Lux. And it tore Ahsoka apart to have to deny her friend that comfort.

"You're doing so well, Hera!"She coached instead. "You'll be pushing soon, and then you'll have Jacen in your arms."

 _And a lot faster then could have been expected, too._ Hera's water had broken just thirty minutes after her contractions began to increase in length and frequency, and by some miracle, she was already fully dilated.

 _"Jacen."_ Hera breathed.

"Yes, Jacen. _Your son_."

This seemed to calm the distraught mother a bit, allowing her to relax and grit her teeth through the next contraction.

"Are you sure you don't want Sabine here, too?"Ahsoka asked, making Hera protest almost immediately."She can't see me like this."

Ahsoka disagreed much with that statement, but had to respect her wishes at this crucial time. Besides, at this rate, it would be too late by the time Sabine even got here.

 _I need to do a better job of comforting her for j_ _ust a few more hours. Jacen will be here by dinnertime._

Hera cried out as her pain got exponentially worse, accompanied by a need to push. One of her hands sought out Ahsoka's again and squeezed it, hard, as she did just that.

She wasn't even aware of the pain in her hand, all her focus was on Hera now, helping her through this, helping her to the end so she could meet her baby boy.

"See? You know what to do now. Just do that every time now, Hera! You're almost done!"

Hera weakly nodded her understanding. There was sweat pouring down her brow, and no matter how much Ahsoka dabbed off with a cloth it didn't help.

Like a second conscious, Ahsoka could feel Kanan feeling for his lover in pain. In pain, birthing their son.

"Hera, you can do this!"She said, intensely, letting her hand be squeezed once again as her friend pushed with all her might. Ahsoka could just see a head of dark, maybe green hair almost on its way out.

"He's crowning!" The self-proclaimed midwife announced.

Just ten minutes later, Hera's own cries of pain were mixed with those of her son as Jacen Syndulla entered the world with a loud, boisterous scream, wrapped almost immediately in a towel as Ahsoka cleaned him off.

Baby Jacen was long limbed, like his father. Though not a heavy baby, he was still perfectly healthy, needing no assistance to breathe or cry, needing no fluid flushed from his lungs. He screamed it all out and squirmed, squirmed, and squirmed as Ahsoka struggled to clean him, then held him up for Hera to see.

Hera, for her credit, was so surprised she was late to register the sound of her son. Now, beholding him for the first time, she was so eager for this moment, to reach out and hold her baby boy as soon as Ahsoka cut the cord.

After a few more seconds of the chorus, she let Jacen be placed on her chest so she could take a good first look cuddle with her son.

"Hello, my little Jacen." Hera's so exhausted she can barely muster the strength to talk. Next to her, Ahsoka hovered with a big smile on her face, despite remembering when she was in a similar situation: she had given birth alone, without Lux there for any of it, not to hold his son, to cut the cord... anything. She was just glad she could be there for Hera, and to see the miracle of birth from a different perspective.

Jacen let out a weaker scream and squirmed against Hera's chest. The skin-to-skin contact with his mother was doing wonders to soothe the newborn babe. The new mother was smiling wide, running her hands over his tiny head and especially through his odd green hair. Just as Aidan's blonde hair came from an unknown gene, so did Jacen's- it was much too dark to be because of Hera's skin tone. And besides, since when did skin impact hair?

As he opened his eyes for the first time- they were _blue?-_ Jacen's cries switched from surprise to hunger. Ahsoka's force senses picked up on it instantly.

"My son..." Hera was still in shock. "My beautiful boy." She turned to Ahsoka, the standing expert. "Is he just in shock? Or-"

"I think he's hungry. Think about it, the last time he would've eaten was when you did, which was more than twelve hours ago."

"Oh, no, but we don't have a bottle!"

"Babies need mother's milk for at least 48 hours before they can drink formula." Ahsoka explained, briefly leaving Hera's bedside to both clean up the bloodied sheets and also find an appropriate blanket for the newborn. "With Aidan, I didn't use a bottle until he was seven or eight months and I couldn't stand getting bit by his fangs any longer." Seeing Hera's alarmed expression, Ahsoka quickly recovered. "It's your call. And don't act so embarrassed- we're both girls here."

Hera relented and her friend left her to it. Ahsoka knew that her baby, her little boy (who was not so little anymore) was pacing outside the door, guarding any unwanteds from entering as well waiting for her to tell him any news of his "aunt", been cringing with every scream of pain and now just itching to come inside and see his new cousin.

"I can tell you're thinking of Aidan."

"He's as worried for you as I am."

"Aidan is like a nephew to me." Hera's voice came from behind Ahsoka, and was almost back to normal. "If your son sees me as an aunt, I think it's only fair that Jacen sees you as Auntie 'Soka."

The baby is too busy eating to agree, but Ahsoka still smiled wider than she had in a long time. "I... would be honored." And somewhere, in the back of her mind, Ahsoka heard Kanan's voice whisper,"thank you."

Then Hera added onto her husband's silent thanks."You more than deserve it. There's no other person I'd rather leave my son with than you."

It hurt Ahsoka to realize that Hera was possibly referring to a reality.

"He'll be well taken care of."

Hera had retreated into an odd silence as she reflected on her new baby's arrival, still marveling at all his tiny features. "He doesn't look like me at all." She murmured.

"He looks like Kanan. But those eyes-"

Hera cut her off. "Is he force sensitive?" Ahsoka couldn't tell if it was fear or hope in her voice.

"I'm not sure yet. I could test his midichlorians, but that involves a prick to the heel."

Hera nodded her approval and consent. The process was quick and easy, to the point where Jacen didn't even cry.

"I just... Can't get over how beautiful he is." Hera fawned over her baby boy, much like anyone would. "He's the most beautiful baby in the entire galaxy."

Ahsoka could easily disagree, but smiled as she waited for the midichlorians count to come back. Her smile dropped at the number, and it took Hera a few seconds to notice. "What?" She already held her baby closer.

"It's high." Was all Ahsoka said.

Force, was anyone ready for that?

"Higher than Kanan's."

Hera's mouth went wide in a silent "o".

Ahsoka was glad Hera didn't want more of an explanation. Instead, she was back to fawning over the little boy in her arms, blissfully unaware of the turmoil that had ensued elsewhere during his birth.

Hera hadn't needed to know that the Rebel Base, and the entire planet for that matter, had come extremely close to being obliterated.

That was what Aidan had told her when Ahsoka finally stepped outside the door.

The pair glanced back into Hera's room, where the Twi'lek mother was cuddling her baby boy.

"She doesn't need to know, yet." Ahsoka decided.

Aidan hummed in agreement. "I'm just worried about what will happen when she does. Only three of our pilots came back! Antilles, Verlaine, and Skywalker."

Despite the walls she had built around herself, Ahsoka still froze in shock. "Skywalker?"

"Yeah, the rookie from Tatooine. Showed up this morning along with Leia and whoever was aboard that ship."

 _How did I not realize..._

She was really that consumed with the business of playing midwife for the past few days, with her force connections focused entirely on Hera and Jacen and maybe Kanan at some point. She would've felt...

As if sensing his mother's oncoming episode, Aidan grasped her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Mom." He said, firmly, demanding her attention. "Tarkin is dead."

"Tarkin." Ahsoka repeated.

" _Dead."_

Looking back to all the terrible things he'd done to her and Aidan over the years, Ahsoka couldn't help but laugh giddily. "He's _gone!"_

He can never hurt us again." Aidan pulled his mother into a hug, but as he looked over her shoulder his smile fell.

 _How will I tell her that Vader survived?_


	14. Chapter 14

When she saw the Skywalker boy later, at the awards ceremony, Ahsoka knew that he _had t_ o be related to Anakin. She could see it in his eyes, his hair, the way he walked... Not to mention their force signatures were nearly identical. What bothered her the most was her failure to ever know this Luke fellow existed.

He was even better a secret then Aidan had been.

After an intense meditation that night, (Ahsoka was yet to confront Luke face to face), she was unexpectedly visited by a force vision, her old Master, Obi-Wan. He kindly explained everything-once she had gotten over the initial shock that he was dead, and that was the entire reason he was able to contact her in this way. Then, she also realized that if Obi-Wan was dead...Vader was still alive.

"I can't believe you let him live."She spat.

"I failed to kill him once before, what makes you think I would be able to do it again?" Obi-Wan demanded, bitterness clear in his voice.

Her old mentor looked so old now, it hurt Ahsoka a bit to look at him.

"He tried to kill me, too, Obi-Wan." She explained, and the Jedi Master prodded for more with the simple raise of an eyebrow. "I was going to kill him. To protect everybody. But I just- I couldn't!"

"I understand."

"No, you don't!" Ahsoka yelled. "I should be dead, Obi-Wan. In fact, I am dead! I am dead because Anakin killed me! And it was only because of the force and some time-traveling _nonsense_ that I'm still here today."

The way Obi-Wan listened made it seem as if he were undermiming her experiences, as he casually just looked at her, and she could imagine him sipping some cup of something in that sassy attitude of his.

Then, "I'm sorry, Ahsoka."

After hearing that, and taking a deep breath, Ahsoka was somehow recovered. Obi-Wan's apologies tended to do that.

"I should leave you in peace."

The dream/force vision began to fade, but not before Ahsoka protested. "Wait! Master!"

When Obi-Wan turned back to her, it reduced her voice to nothing but a whisper. "Do you know why I left the Order?"

For the first time in their interaction, Obi-Wan actually smiled. "I had a few suspicions."

"But you never told Anakin, right?"

"Of course not. I didn't want to tell him anything the way he was acting."

Ahsoka rocked forward a bit. _So Vader only knows of Aidan because of me._

"It wouldn't have mattered, anyway. Everyone, including my son, is in danger because I'm alive."

"None of that is your fault. I wa the one who failed before you did. I just wasn't strong enough to-" he stopped talking and huffed a breath, using the time to stroke his beard. "No. It's not your fault at all. Don't think that."

Obi-Wan's unsuccessful attempt at shifting blame failed, because Ahsoka knew that in no way ever that Obi-Wan would do things differently than what he had. And she wouldn't ask him to.

The force connection was fading again- Ahsoka's falling from her Jedi status was likely doing something to the balance and whatnot. It was time to say goodbye.

Now that she had Luke to look after from afar, however, it wouldn't be the last time they talked. No, not at all.

 **ooooooooo**

It was one of the daily visits to see Hera and baby Jacen, whom Aidan had taken an unexpected liking to.

It was quite something, seeing Aidan sitting around with a sleeping baby in his arms. It was a sight Ahsoka thought she would never see.

"You know,"Aidan said, trying hard to maintain eye contact with his mother and not the adorable little baby in his arms, "When I was younger, I always wanted a younger brother."

"Oh, I know."Ahsoka laughed a bit; reminded of the innocent old days when her son thought she could just somehow produce a brother for him out of thin air. "What about now?"

"Well, I'm almost twenty years old. A brother at this point would be... rather awkward if you ask me. Knowing the "details" and all that. I wouldn't be able to look at a sibling of mine without thinking about the-"

"Sex?" Ahsoka interrupted, amused, knowing Aidan's apparent taboo of the word.

His cheeks went red, matching her skin tone. "Well, yeah."

"You're afraid of _sex?"_ She laughed at her son's expense, thankful for any opportunity that arose to tease him relentlessly.

And it worked.

"Mom! Stop!"

"So this is why you don't show interest in getting married... you're afraid of sex."

Aidan's mouth went wide, opened and closed a bit like a fish."Firstly, _no_ , secondly, as you have made clear, you don't need to be married to have sex!"

"Ha! You said _sex!"_ Ahsoka continued,fake giggling. Aidan looked as if he wanted to throw something at her, but right now the only thing in his arms was Jacen, which posed some obvious concerns.

After making sure that he wasn't going to attack her, the teasing stopped, at least for a few minutes until Hera came into the room, blinking sleep from her eyes. "Why was everybody screaming about sex?"

Aidan went red again, and Ahsoka began laughing like a maniac, nearly doubled over at the sheer timing of it all.

"'Cause Aidan's afraid of it."She gasped.

Taking her baby back into her arms, Hera looked from Ahsoka, who was grinning widly, to Aidan, who looked like he wanted to die. "I see." Soon, a smile spread across her face as well and she was surpressing a laugh.

"I'm going to excuse myself, now." Aidan said and backed out of the room, cheeks still flushed in embarrassment.

Ahsoka waved at him as he left, feeling every bit her old self then she had in a long time. Snippy, as her old master called it.

"I guess I'd better go chase after him." She told Hera, making her own way out of the door. She could easily track her son, as he hadn't wandered far, just to the cafeteria. Good, she could join him for lunch-her own stomach was growling.

Inside the dining hall, her eyes immediately zeroed in on the sight of a group of young pilots gathered around a table,listening to someone talk. Wondering what the fuss was about, she began to make her way over, but that's when her son stopped her.

"That's him. That's Skywalker."

Ahsoka didn't even notice where he had come from. Now her eyes were glued to Anakin's son- basically, the boy who would be her nephew if things had gone differently.

"I know. I can tell."Ahsoka said, eyes piercing into the crowd and seeking him out.

"I haven't been able to talk to Leia since Alderann was destroyed, I need to go and find her." Aidan patted her back in farewell and walked off. Ahsoka was left to slowly approach the table of pilots, and it took a while for someone to notice her standing there and alert the others.

"General Tano!"

The talk at the table hushed immediately, as they all somehow knew of her- perhaps from the stories floating around even from the Clone Wars.

"Luke Skywalker." She stated, looking him in the eyes for the first time.

"Yes ma'am..." Luke was understandably confuse by her sudden appearance, and appeared skeptical. She didn't blame him, but had little control over how she approached him when the force had taken over.

"You're so much like your father." She declare after a few minutes of evaluation. Of course, she knew that without looking at him. She sensed in him what she had sensed in Leia all those years ago. And all of Luke's accomplishments with so little training only proved that the force was strong with him.

"Wait," Luke had his hands on the table, preparing to push himself up to face her."You knew my father?"

"Yes, I was his Padawan."

Other pilots began to whisper. Some hugged and wandered off, deciding that the conversation was over now that she had arrived. Too bad! It wasn't everyday you met your old master's secret son.

It may have been her imagination, but when she turned to leave she may have caught Luke vaulting over the table to catch up with her.

"Hey, wait!" He protested."You can't just tell me something like that and leave! You may be the only person here who knew him!"

 _And I am the only one who know what he's become._

Tell me about him!" Luke insisted, and she could almost detect a hint of whining in his voice. She was hoping that trait wasn't passed down.

"Your father was a great man." She began."And a great friend. He believed in me when nobody else did. And he may have been reckless- but it always paid off in the end."

Luke frowned, unconvinced."You're just repeating what Obi-Wan told me."

"Look, Luke." Ahsoka turned and faced him."I answered your question as much as I can at the moment. It's been almost twenty years since your father died, and some things are better left in the past."

In other words, she would reveal them when she was ready. For now, she had met Luke, established his relationship to his father... And any longer spent with him would end in tears if she had to keep talking. Luke would have to respect that.

"I'm open to talk when you need it. I have somewhere I need to be."

"Hold on!" Luke grabbed her arm, his reflexes only slightly slower than her own.

"Obi-Wan wants me to be a Jedi, like my father." Luke said. "Do you believe in me, too?"

Ahsoka eyed him closely. "So far."

Her loaded response made Luke confused enough for her to finally escape.

 _So far._ She mused her choice of words, scoffing slightly at how stupid that sounded. _Only time will tell just how much of a personality you and your father share. Until then, I'll be keeping an eye on you, Luke Skywalker._


	15. Chapter 15

After the victory and during the evacuation, Ahsoka ran into Leia. The exhilaration of dealing such a great blow to the Empire was easy to read on her face, but Ahsoka knew her well enough to tell that she was silently grieving.

Since the two of them had not talked as friends in a while, Ahsoka was hesitant to approach her, but the caution was pointless as Leia began the conversation.

"Do you think my father is proud of me?"

The question surprised Ahsoka; she didn't know Bail nearly as well as some of the other people here.

"I'm sure he is, Leia."Ahsoka tried her best to offer a reassuring smile, but Leia didn't return it.

"I thought I did the right thing." Leia continued, and Ahsoka could tell that she was about to vent. "I told them the wrong base, but Tarkin saw right through me. And I got my planet destroyed.

"Aidan said you had a past with Tarkin; more than just the kidnapping when we were young, and that if I ever needed to talk about what he'd done to me, what all of them did to me, that I could talk to you."

It took all of Ahsoka's self control not to growl at that name. She thought back to his relentlessness to break her before her trial, and later through harming her son.

"You don't need to have undergone a horrific life experience to talk to me, Leia. I'm always here, just like when you were little."

"Aidan also said that you know about Vader."

 _Vader. What indescribable horrors did he put her theough?_

"He tortured me." Leia said simply. "I thought I was going to die, but at the very end... Something, I don't know what, healed me. Now I remember-"Leia leaned in and lowered her voice."I remember that when you talked about your time as a Jedi, about all the things that the force can do, all the different ways it manifests itself inside of all of us...do you think that was it?"

"It could have been."Ahsoka confirmed, of course being the only living soul who knew Leia's true parentage. If Luke was force sensitive, then it was likely Leia was as well, though, as she said, manifesting itself in different ways, healing her as she underwent torture at the hands of her father.

"What is it?" Leia asked, inquiring into the wistful look that Ahsoka had gotten in her eyes.

"Nothing." Ahsoka fought to return to reality, forced herself to focus. "I'm just thinking of all that's happened the past few days while I wasn't paying attention. I feel guilty,like you needed me."

"You were needed elsewhere, with General Syndulla. If you had followed the given orders, you'd likely be dead, and I am _not letting_ Aidan go through that again, especially now that I know what it's like."

Yes, she had a point. Ahsoka'd hate for there to have been two orphans made. Or, nearly so, in Aidan's case.

The sad thing was, if Ahsoka were to let her guard down and mention Aidan's father, there's a big chance Leia has met Lux before an will know who he was. She knew Aidan and she had met him at least once during their escapades as little kids. Any time Ahsoka thought back to the fact she just remembered that she could have been reunited with the love of her life if she'd just gone down the hall...

But that was beside the point. "Where are we off to now?" She asked Leia.

"I believe we decided on Hoth."

Hoth. Ahsoka hadn't heard much about it. "Never heard of it."

"Just be sure to pack lots of warm clothes. Be sure and remind your son, he gets whiny when it's cold." Leia began edging away, about to be swept up into the crowd of evacees.

Ahsoka smirked and raised a hand as she waved farewell. Her new challenge would be to find Hera and Aidan in this mess: they'd all be traveling together, mostly because Ahsoka took her role as aunt _very_ seriously, and knew that Jacen would need lots of blankets to keep warm.

 **ooooooooo**

"I want to find Ezra."

Ahsoka looked up from her plate to meet Aidan's determined expression, which meant he would do it anyway even without permission. "We have no idea where he is, Aidan, and we cannot spare any resources to do so-"

"Let me rephrase that." He interrupted. "I _need_ to find Ezra! The time is right, mom. We've just an enormous victory, and we have forces to spare."

"Aidan; we lost _all but three of our pilots."_ Ahsoka tried to keep her voice low as not to alert Hera to what they were discussing, as she was just a room away.

"It's been more than a year, mom. It's time to find him."

"It's not your job to find him."

Now, there was something Aidan wasn't prepared for. His mouth opened to form a response, but nothing came out, instead his eyebrows scrunched up in anger and he stormed off. Heaving a sigh, Ahsoka ween back to eating and scanning her data pad, looking for any news...

Something caught her attention; an Imperial broadcasting site proclaiming the deaths of a group of traitors, all thanks to the new and deadly Inferno Squad.

It wasn't the headline that caught her interest, rather the group of rebels described. Why did the group name "Dreamers" seem so familiar...?

With nothing better to do, Ahsoka scrolled until she found a copy of a press conference sort of thing. It automatically began playing, and one of the first things out of Iden Versio's mouth was that Lux Bonteri is _dead_.

Despite the initial wave of emotions that besieged her, Ahsoka knew in her heart that it wasn't true. She would know if her soulmate had passed.

Her contemplation was interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps, footsteps she knew from anywhere. Aidan was already on his way over to her, apparently bored of sulking. (It seemed to be faster every time).

"Mom, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you." He pulled out a chair and sat. "I wasn't thinking right. I- I think I understand why you lived so much of your life avoiding attachments."

Ahsoka hummed in response, then tossed the data pad over to him. "Check it out."

Her son scanned the article, stopping only as far as the massacre was mentioned. "Imperial propaganda." He snorted."But I'm surprised one of them died for it."

"All of them died for it."

"I meant Seyn Marana."

"Oh."

"Is this a way of distracting me?" Aidan asked, leaning back so that the legs of his chair went up in the air. "You've not even accepted my apology."

"I don't need to accept your apology. I'm your mother, and I'll always love you no matter what you do or say."

Her son tossed the data pad back into the table and glared out the window on the ship's side. "I don't wanna go to Hoth. I don't like the cold." He whined. Searching for affirmation he added,"We're warm-blooded, aren't we?"

"Who's "we"?"

"You and me."

"That argument could be made, yes. Except I don't mind the cold, or the snow. It... Reminds me of your father."

 _Your father who is miraculously still alive. I wonder where he's headed now._

"I can't imagine you in the middle of a blizzard." He said with that snarky attitude of his, and she just flared her nostrils and threatened to push his chair over. Aidan knew full well that she could easily just swipe all four legs with one sweep of her leg.

"How long do you think we'll be here?"

"Long enough for the Empire to find us again. Not a minute longer."

"Gee, I hope not. For all our sakes." Aidan gestured to the room where Hera and Jacen were, and soft cries could be heard as the baby awoke from a nap. "I'd hate for him to grow up and never see the sunny skies."

"Of course he'll see them. I'll make sure of that."

"We."

"Hmm?"

"You mean 'we',"Aidan corrected.

"Of course." Ahsoka smiled with her eyes at him and slowly the emotion tugged at her lips. "You're adapting nicely."

"What?"

"Big brother."

"Pfft. I prefer to be known as the older,grown cousin who teaches you all the stuff you're really not supposed to do."

"Should I be afraid?"

"Very." Her son confirmed."That boy will be picking locks and crawling through air vents in no time. And those are just the basics!"

"Better not speak too loud or Hera will never let you around him again." Ahsoka glanced at the view outside the transport in time to see a white void engulfing them, and the sound of harsh winds and snowflakes assailing them.

"We're here." She said, simply, all jokes over.

Aidan was already shivering.


	16. Chapter 16

Aidan was gone quite often now, maybe even weeks at a time as he kept himself busy and away from their base on Hoth. By contrast, his mother stayed on the snowy planet, advising the small attacks the Rebels made while they also received many new volunteers to carry those missions out. A good bit of the new recruits came because of their victory at Yavin, giving the galaxy hope had been a great way to boost enrollment.

The Rebellion also became a sanctuary for those wanted by the Empire and had nowhere else to go, as disappearing of the grid was rather difficult. That was a common genre of those who came.

After several weeks of downtime, Ahsoka found that she couldn't sleep. She knew that Aidan was due home any day now, and that may have been a reason why, but something else denied her rest.

A feeling, and a message from the force. The issue was that she couldn't quite place what it was, and whether it was good or bad.

Fine, then. Ahsoka would have to pursue an alternate agenda, one that consisted of either meditation or training. She was honestly not in the mood for running her defenses and kata without Aidan beside her, but on the other hand, Obi-Wan hadn't contacted her again, meaning that meditation was useless.

Maybe if she were to get up and walk she would tire herself out. Maybe she could find another upgrade to add to her ship. Maybe Hera would need a few extra hands with Jacen, who became cold easily. Frankly, Ahsoka didn't know _what_ Hera was thinking bringing him here... But that wasn't right of her to judge.

Both her eyelids and her steps were heavy, but Ahsoka knew that if she were to turn around and get back in bed then she would only end up staring at the ceiling for hours until morning, or what counted for it on this planet.

Ahsoka shivered and pulled her coat tighter around her. Despite her reluctance to adopt a new manner of dressing on this new planet, she meant what she had told her son about the snow reminding her of Lux.

It was silly, really. There were plenty of other things to remember him by.

It had been a few months since she had read about his supposed death. She wondered where he was now? Working undercover on his home planet of Onderon, preparing for a day that saw him reclaiming his rightful place as senator.

 _I just hope he's happy._

Ahsoka made her way to the hangar; even if she couldn't make repairs on her own ship it was likely one of the snow speeders would need tinkering with. Plus, being in the hangar gave her a sense of security in knowing that she could see who was leaving and entering the base. In other words, if Aidan came back, she would be the first to know.

One section of the hangar was reserved for transports coming and going off world, likely the new recruits entering while those doing the recruiting were departing.

From her ship, Ahsoka inspected the group from the most recent arrival, the ship Rex was head of. Out of fear for his life, she insured that her friend stayed away from combat as much as possible in his "old age".

She could only sense two life forms with him. One of the newcomers caught her attention, for he was a Togruta like herself! That made Ahsoka a bit excited,seeing someone her own species instead of the seemingly endless sea of humans.

Rex exited behind the Togruta, and with him was a man facing away from her. The odd thing was, Rex seemed comfortable with this guy, and she even saw him laughing with his new found friend.

Odd, very odd. Rex didn't have a lot of people he trusted. Especially new people.

Finally, he must have caught her eye because he waved a bit, but even at the distance they had she could see his face change. Their eyes met, and Rex's brow knit in an expression of half surprise, half worry. Then, just as quickly, it was gone.

Puzzled, Ahsoka hopped down from the fighter she was working on and made to follow the group. She would have attempted conversation with the male of her species, but her Togruti was likely different than his dialect. After all, she had learned hers from hours of study in the library of the Jedi temple.

As she trailed the group, Ahsoka felt a impending sense of urgency to discovering exactly who they were. There was _something_ about the man Rex was with. Something familiar.

She heard Rex tell the two that he was passing them of to one of the other officers, where they would be separated to get a background check and, if they passed, assigned a bunk. He patted the mystery man on the back and then began walking towards her.

"Who are they?" Ahsoka asked. "I feel like I know one of them. The human one. Why were you so comfortable with him?"

Rex surprised her by gently grabbing her arm (still with comparable strength to his younger years) and pulled her into the nearest unoccupied room.

"I think you should sit down for this."

Now it was Ahsoka's turn to look at him with a confused expression. "No, I just need to know how I know that man. The one with the brown hair."

"Ahsoka...please."

The sudden gentleness to his voice made her obey his command and sit. Rex took one of the chairs catty corner to hers and placed his folded hands on the table.

Now she was worried. "Rex...?

"I think we knew this day would come."

Her first thought was to think "what day?" Then her brain began to profile all the things that had happened lately, like the Empire's new wanted list, the fact Rex's recruiting mission had gone to Tatooine, a place where people went to hide. Fugitives from both sides...

"No." She breathed, her breath hitched and fists clenched. Rex tried to diffuse the situation and put his hands around hers in a move to comfort, but it did little as she pulled away and stood up so quickly that her chair fell over.

 _This has been one cruel joke that the Force has played on me._

"Ahsoka, wait!" Rex wanted to chase her and slow her down. He really did. That just wasn't possible. He was tired. Too tired...

Ahsoka left him in the dust (if such a thing existed on Hoth) and began to run down the hallway that she had seen them taken. She ran into a lot of people in the cramped hallways, but she really didn't care. Following her instincts, which were clear as could be now, she burst into the briefing room where the background check was being conducted.

"Ah, General." Said one of the officers when he saw her enter. "I was just about to send the files to your data-"

"No, I'll take it from here."

"But-"

All she needed to do was glare and her inferior was tripping on his own feet to get out of her crosshairs. Poor man, he hadn't done anything wrong, but Ahsoka's senses were all over the place and even overriding her manners.

She took a deep, collecting breath as she stepped close enough to the door for it to slide open on its own.

He was there, sitting at the table with his head down and fingers intertwined. He was not a patient man, even for his profession. And, quite frankly, he was a bit annoyed at all the hassle the process of induction entailed. Surely they could just know that he was doing this out of the genuine bottom of his heart.

The interrogation room was so small that Ahsoka crossed it in two steps. Two steps, and she was facing him. She cleared her throat and his head shot up.

There was no denying it now: his hair may have been peppered with streaks of his white,his skin a bit wrinkly, but his eyes were the same. The same as the ones she had looked into nearly two decades ago as she left him behind.

"Hello, Lux."

 **oooooooooooo**

 **Author's note:**

 **I hope you guys are still enjoying this story- it seems I am rarely getting reviews an that is making me question its continuation. Thanks to all who have reviewed, it means a lot and gives me an idea of what you guys want to see next in the story! I also apolgize for a decrease in the length of chapters... I am just trying to stay somewhat on a schedule at this point and may end up posting what was supposed to be one big chapter in two or even three separate weeks just to make sure I have something to post.**

 **School is almost over (less than a month!) and things will get better, I swear.**

 **May the force be with you,**

 **Dinui**


	17. Chapter 17

Lux was speechless, not able to even muster the two words to say back to her. To acknowledge her. He just sat there, mouth hanging open, attempting to process that the woman he had loved and lost and who he was told had died, was in fact right here in front of him.

To be fair, she didn't try to say anything else either. She just sat there across from him and awkwardly began tracing invisible patterns on the tabletop, trying to keep her eyes off of him.

Finally, the silence became too much for her and she spoke again, but only for fear that Lux's jaw was going to become unhinged.

"You're going to catch flies." She chastised, in a motherly tone that Lux had never heard from her before.

"I'm sorry!" He blurted, and began blabbering off so many excuses that Ahsoka wasn't even sure he was speaking Basic. "I just- I- I can't believe you're alive! He told everyone, _everyone_ , that you were dead."

"Who did?" Ahsoka's brow furrowed.

Lux shook his head in dismissal."It doesn't matter because it's a lie."

She had always admired his way of keeping the past untouched.

"It is a lie, right?" He clarified. "This isn't a dream?"

Ahsoka reached a hand across the table and placed her fingers on top of his, the simple touch sending near electrical impulses through her mind and through the force. That should have been real, solid, undeniable proof.

Lux must've felt it too, because he jumped when their hands made contact. Contact that had not been felt for the past twenty-something years.

This was not how she ha imagined their reunion: across the interrogation table from each other, getting used to the feeling of being in each other's presence again.

"I'll look into getting you out of here." Ahsoka said, drawing her hand away. Lux looked like he wanted to protest, but forgot how to form the words needed to do so.

Doing her best to stay strong, Ahsoka stood up and began to leave, having to fight against every ounce of willpower to keep her from turning back to him. There was so much more to say, but this wasn't the place to do it- in a small, claustrophobic room monitored by a lot more security cameras than she was comfortable with.

It wasn't like he was handcuffed or in any way hindered from walking, but Lux made no move to follow her, perhaps he was feeling the same as she was, that this wasn't the time, or the place to ask her how her life had been for the past few decades, and ask her all the questions he needed answers to.

"Ahsoka-"Force, the name sounded so foreign coming from his mouth. "I'm sorry. For everything."

It wa those words that made Ahsoka wonder if he somehow knew, but that was impossible. She had profiled him in the last couple of minutes, past the physical aging and down to the physiological aspects of his character, like the fact that he still wore a wedding ring, even though being branded a traitor and put on the wanted list by your wife should probably have been grounds for divorce.

"Can I talk to you later?" He asked, knowing that his time was up. "Would you- would you be okay with that?"

He was asking _permission_. Her response should have been immediate, but she couldn't bring her mouth to form words. She just nodded, then fumbled her way out of the door.

 _I'm such an idiot. He didn't deserve the way I treated him._

Meanwhile, in the other room, Lux had his head in his hands, contemplating the last few minutes.

 _I'm such an idiot._ He mused.

 _She didn't deserve any of this._

 **ooooooooooo**

Since it seemed that she had just about invited Lux into her home, it set Ahsoka into a bit of a frenzy back in her apartment. Officer's quarters, no matter the location, always seemed to mimic the setup of the master-padawan quarters she had shared with Anakin all those years ago.

At least it was relatively simple: she never used the small kitchenette, and the two- chair dining table was rarely used anymore. The sitting room was just a couch and a holochess table of some description. Aidan's bedroom would be off-limits, the door closed because Ahsoka didn't feel like having to explain the obviously-male roommate (even if it was her son) to the man she had once agreed to marry (or, basically so. She'd promised to go back to him after the war was over.)

With a huff, she pulled out a chair and practically melted into it, feeling every bit the housewife that she'd never had the chance to become.

What was she going to tell him? It depended on how he asked. _Was_ she going to tell him? Should she wait? Should she lie?

Now she hoped more than ever that Aidan would stay away for at least a while longer. The last thing she needed was Lux's blonde-haired look-alike of a son to walk in the door while they were trying to sort out their time apart.

That was about the worst thing that could happen to her right now.

Then came the knock on her door that she hadn't even realized she was holding her breath for.

She opened it so quickly that she wondered if Lux suspected her of actually camping out in preparation.

Why was it that no matter what the occasion, he always managed to look like the most handsome man Ahsoka had ever met. Even now, Lux was wearing clothes that she was pretty sure were being borrowed from Rex, but the way that his hair was combed to perfection showed the years of his attention to detail. But, still...

"You didn't shave it."She observed, frowning at the layer of dark fuzz that was growing around Lux's chin.

"Should I have?" He asked, running a hand through it. "I didn't think you'd mind."

"What makes you think my mind would've changed since last time?"

"Okay, fine. The beard will go." Lux surrendered, then took a step into her apartment, taking a second to admire all the space. "And all they gave me was a bunk bed seemingly carved out of the wall."

"But I'm sure it beats sleeping on the floor."

"Or that horrible bag of rocks they called a bed on Tatooine."

She snorted. "Tatooine, huh?"

He shrugged. "It's what I had to do. But even there, the stormtroopers found me. I was lucky that Rex happened upon me."

"So he found you by accident?"

"I don't believe in accidents." Lux said, finally stepping away from the door and making his way to the table. Ahsoka was preparing a pot of caf, trying to remember how he liked it.

"One sugar, two creams, right?"

"Oh, I drink it black, now, thanks." He had his hand on the chair's back, preparing to pull it out. "Somebody else lives here."

It wasn't a question.

Ahsoka froze in place. She hadn't expecte Lux to be so attentive to detail, especially regarding something as minuscule as an extra chair at the table. "Yes." She said, simply, setting his cup down in front of him. "Please don't be angry with me."

"Ahsoka, I have no right to be angry with you. I married another woman because I was foolish enough to believe a lie, even though I knew in my heart that you weren't dead. So if anything, we're even."

Ahsoka snorted. "You think I married someone?"

"Well... Why else would you have two chairs? I know you didn't go through all this trouble just for me."

Why did he have to be so gosh-darn perceptive?! "Well, maybe I did." She retorted.

"I already told you that I'm not mad."

"And I already told you that I didn't marry anyone else! Not like _you_ did!"

She shouldn't have kept talking. She should've let him speak to defend himself. But no, she kept talking. "You gave up on me!"

His eyes narrowed. "You know that isn't true.

"I needed you, Lux. And you weren't there!"

"How many times am I going to have to say I'm sorry?!" He exclaimed, exasperated. "I didn't come here to argue about the past, Ahsoka. I made mistakes. And I suffered the consequences. I came here to talk to you because I care about you, and I owe you an explanation."

"Oh, that you certainly do."

"I did wait for you." Lux began."I waited a year and a half before the pressure became too much for me. I had to do something for the good of my home, and that meant doing good for the Empire, even though I disagreed with much of it."

"But they didn't trust me. I was put under extra guard... Onderon was one of the first planets to be under Imperial control. And it hurt me, Ahsoka. It hurt me to see the stormtroopers marching through the streets and wreaking havoc and spreading fear."

"And so I did the only thing I could. I canceled all suspicions that I was still involved with the Jedi who liberated my home and got married to someone else, an Imperial woman who needed a husband whose status would keep her safe. It wasn't a marriage out of love, but out of necessity. This thing-" Lux slid off the wedding band and tossed it up and down in his palm. "This was the only thing that kept me alive."

"And we had a daughter." When Lux saw her cringe a bit, he quickly clarified."Well, she did. I became her stepfather. And I'm glad I did, because I'm pretty sure I saved her. Redia's mother hated her even more than she hated me. But I put up with it all those years because I knew what it was like to grow up unstable and I don't wish that on anybody. I had to be a father to the little girl that needed me..."

 _I needed you. Aidan needed you, you hypocrite._

She tossed her head in annoyance and halted his tale. "So when did it all go downhill? Your marriage, I mean." She didn't mean to sound bitter about it, she really didn't, but she just couldn't help it."

"I told you. It was never good. There was no ceremony, no elaborate wedding, just signing some papers. We had no honeymoon, and we never once slept in the same bed. Do you hear what I'm saying, Ahsoka? Do you understand?"

Oh, she did.

"You mean to tell me that you got married to a woman who you didn't love in order to protect _me_?"

He nodded. "And Onderon."

Now Ahsoka felt like _she_ needed to apologize. She remembered when Aidan had run into Lux on Alderaan all those years ago and announced that the senator of Onderon had a daughter his age. She remembered her initial anger and shock.

And she now regretted it.

"Lux, I... Don't know what to say?"

"I do." That handsome smile, the one that made her stomach flutter as he reached for her hands to grasp."I never stopped loving you, Ahsoka, and I think that we need to start over."

She totally agreed, but... "I think you need to hear my side of the story, too, before you decide if you still love me."

"I don't think you know about the scandal with the Jedi temple being blown up. I had a feeling that if you had, you would've been there at the trial that decided my fate. You would have-"

"Wait. Hold up."Lux interrupted, leaning forward in his chair."Your _trial?!_ "

"I was a suspect. But don't interrupt me! You need to listen to _me,_ now."

Biting back his other accosts, Lux sank back into listening mode.

"I was stripped of my Jedi Status and put down for execution. But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise! Once the real suspect was caught- I had been set up by a friend- I was going to go back to you."

"But then, let me guess... The Empire happened."

She nodded.

 _You need to tell him. He was honest with you._

"And I was scared." Ahsoka summed up. "You were right about me not living alone, Lux, but it's not that I am involved with anyone- you're the only man I've ever given myself to- it's that I share this apartment with my son."

Now it was Lux's turn to cringe a bit. "Your son?"

"Yep."

"But how could you have a son if you've never loved, never been with anyone else?" Lux exclaimed in shock. "Did you adopt?"

"No, I didn't." Ahsoka said. "And I'll say it again, Lux. You are the only man I've ever slept with."

There was his third and final clue. It was up to him to figure out the rest.

"You met him." Ahsoka prompted, trying to kick Lux's brain back into gear."You probably don't remember it, it was so long ago, but I remember Aidan coming home and telling me how you had rescued him from Tarkin."

Lux took a moment to think back to the event she described. "I'm sorry. I don't remember."

"It's alright,"Ahsoka said, but her heart shrunk a bit. "It was a long time ago. Aidan was only four."

Lux took a sip of his caf, creating a few seconds that was void of any conversation. Inwardly, Ahsoka was screaming her head off at Lux and his dense-ness... How could he not realize that Aidan was _his?!_ She was practically giving him the answer!

"Why do you look so angry?" Lux inquired.

"Because I should have known better than to assume you would remember! That you would even care! That you _ever_ cared!"

"Ahsoka."

"You're probably a spy." She went on."You probably made up this son story to get through to me! And you think I'm stupid enough to let my guard down?!"

"Ahsoka..."

"I should _kill you,_ Lux!" She even had a hand on her light saber, seconds from igniting it, but it was he who furthered the altercation by slamming a fist down onto the table.

"Damn it, Ahsoka! Listen to me!"

It was the pain in his voice, combined with the realization of what she had said to him that made her shut her mouth and sit back down.

"You're trying to tell me that this son of yours... This "Aidan", is mine? Is _ours?_ "

"Lux, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost my temper. Force, I shouldn't have even told you yet."

"No. You're right to tell me." Lux said, and his calm demeanor finally returned and was working to calm her own overwhelmed soul.

She smiled slightly, closing her eyes and steadying her breathing as she considered the conflict over and done. On to the next topic. But then Lux stood up, and his eyes showed an expression that she couldn't quite place. Too late, she realized that is was anger,disappointment, and guilt all at once.

"But you should have done it years ago."

If the door wasn't an automated one; he would've slammed it on his way out.


	18. Chapter 18

"I ruined it, Rex!"

The former clone captain could only listen to her as she recounted the details while downing another shot of the rarely accessible, cheap, heavily-diluted ale.

"He hates me!"

"No, he doesn't."

"Yes he does!"

"No, he doesn't!" Rex insisted, his voice drowning out her protests."Ahsoka, you both told each other a lot of information to process, and I'd expect both of you to be a bit angry, 'cuz that's how relationships work."

"I told Lux that I should kill him!" She reminded him.

Rex shrugged, which only made her more upset. "He knows you didn't mean it. Look, 'Soka. I'll talk to him. I'll be your mediator and I'll keep Aidan off of your hands until everything diffuses."

"I can't ask you to do that, Rex."

"Too bad. I am." He insisted. "Now do you want me to go with you to apologize, or do you want to wait?"

"Apologize?!" She bellowed, slamming her fourth glass onto the table. "You think _I_ should _apologize_?!"

Rex looked at her blankly. What had they _just_ talked about for the past hour or so?

 _Have I been talking to myself?_ He sighed. _Oh, well._

"One of you has to do it. And I doubt it will be him. That's just how men are-we don't like to admit when we're wrong."

"Then I'll wait." Ahsoka declared, and finally decided to stop drinking because the room was beginning to spin.

"Yeah, you will." Rex agreed."And you'll sleep it off. Let's get you back to your room. We can't have anyone seeing you like this."

She tried to shrug off his hands to prove she wasn't drunk enough to cause any harm, but only succeed in tripping herself over his feet.

They awkwardly stumbled the way home, avoiding people when possible as Rex prayed that Aidan would not return only to see that his mother had gotten herself drunk.

"Rex?" She mumbled when he laid her down and began to walk away.

"Hmm?"

"I wish _you_ were Aidan's father."

He stopped in his tracks. "No you don't-" he was going to say, but she was already snoring.

 _I'm pretty sure that was the alcohol talking._

 **ooooooooooo**

"Of course I was going to apologize." Lux said as he ran a hand through his hair. He had just taken another shower, using shaving as an excuse for even another five minutes to be alone in the bathroom. "I made her angry, and she responded as such. I didn't help matters by storming out like I did."

"You only made matters worse,"Rex supplied.

"Thanks, Rex. You're a lot of help. I really appreciate how much you try to assist me through this complicated phase of life." No, Lux didn't care how sarcastic he came across as. "In case you didn't notice, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that _I have a son._ "

"Well...Would it have been easier if I were to have told you like the original plan said?"

"Of course not!" Lux conceded. "I just can't believe how much this changes my life. I have a son, Rex!" He grasped the older man's shoulders tightly. "My own flesh and blood!"

"Lux-"

"I wonder who he looks like-"

"Lux-"

"-though I should be able to remember from that one time I saw him as a kid."

"Lux-"

"What, Rex?!"

"I don't think he's as excited as you are. Don't get your hopes up. From what Ahsoka told me," the clone paused for a breath, debating how to say this."Aidan is... Not exactly open to the idea of ever finding you. So it may be awhile... Before you see him, or get to tell him who you really are."

"Oh." Lux said, literally deflating. Rex watched the happiness fade from his face, almost like a mask melting off.

"Here, kid. Lemme make it up to you." Rex gestured for Lux to sit across from him. "Back when Ahsoka was doing a lot riskier stuff, she gave me two separate holograms to hang onto for safe keeping, in case anything ever happened to her. I was to show one to you and one to Aidan. I think, I may as well show you yours."

Lux accepted the holodisk gratefully, his excitement having returned. Rex patted him on the back anf got up to take his leave, "I'll leave you to it. And, uh, congratulations, I guess." Rex scratched his bald head sheepishly. "Even if it is a bit late."

And then he was gone, leaving Lux alone to watch in solitude. Choosing his hole in the wall of a bunk (literally) as the place with the most privacy, he settled down, a little cramped and slumped over, but too excited to be uncomfortable.

After taking a deep breath, Lux began the hologram.

Ahsoka was obviously using the camera in a first-person position, or perhaps not even holding it at all. Lux wouldn't put it past her to be using the force or something to cheat if she was lazy (in the time before the Empire, obviously).

Aidan must've been extremely young in this recording, maybe even just a newborn, as Lux could infer that the reason Ahsoka looked so tired was because she had just given birth.

"Here he is, Lux" Ahsoka-in-the-holo announced. "Our baby boy."

Now, Lux didn't know a lot in terms of babies, but he was pretty sure the newborn ones were not supposed to be as cute as Aidan was.

"All nice and fresh." Ahsoka added, a slight chuckle from her as her own choice of words amused her.

It wasn't like Lux could tell anything that she described to him, like Aidan's likeness or anything of the sort. So he just listened and held back tears.

"He looks like you, Lux." Ahsoka said, and in the holo she was pointing out the blonde hair. Baby Aidan squirmed a bit and offered up an involuntary newborn smile- those tiny movements were enough to cause Lux to tear up even more.

"I didn't realize how much I needed you until it was too late. But don't worry, we'll come and see you soon." She promised, but Lux knew now that it was a day that never came.

In the holo, baby Aidan yawned while Ahsoka patted his back gently. "Oh, I know." She cooed. "Being born is just so tiring."

She flashed a smile towards the camera, a genuine one, with her eyes sparkling. "See you soon, Daddy."

The sniff that Lux used to cancel out his tears would have been audible to anyone else in the room. The new father (in a sense) held out almost until the end of the slideshow, when he heard his son, now almost walking, babble his name first (much to his mother's chagrin.)

 _And to think that I missed this._

The clips ended after the conclusion of Aidan's toddler years, where his blonde hair was beginning to lose its baby curls, and his baby fat began to subside and reveal a face like his mother's.

 _While I thought her dead, she was taking care of the son I never knew about, all while the Empire chase after her._

 _I'll never be able to fix this._

He wondered if his tales of the past may have caused Ahsoka to doubt his love of her. _Surely renouncing Steela had been enough..._

He thought he had been quite clear on the premise that his previous marriage was loveless, not ever even consummated. Heck, Lux couldn't remember if he and Niisha had even ever kissed!

 _Whatever she thinks;_ Lux decided, _I owe it to her to try and start over. Tomorrow, I need to talk to her, whether she wants it or not._

In one minuscule yet decisive movement, Lux slid his useless wedding band from his ring finger and decided then and there that he would never wear it again.

 _Who knows?_ He told himself, _I may be wearing a new one in a couple of years._

That thought alone was enough to power him for the rest of the day.

It was a new beginning for Lux Bonteri.


	19. Chapter 19

As predicted, Lux gave in first.

Ahsoka was pretty smug about it, and would not be willing to let him forget it for a while. With their apologies exchanged , the two sat down for a small meal in her apartment.

"I watched the videos." Lux told her.

Ahsoka blanched. _What videos?_

Lux didn't seem to notice her confusion and kept talking. "Aidan is... He's just like you."

 _Oh, those_ , she remembered, and dutifully plastered a smile onto her face."Is that a bad thing?" She smirked, one eyebrow raising as she took a bite of rations.

"Not _all_ bad." Lux decided, smiling back at her. He looked younger with a clean shaven face, the only way she remembered him, especially when he smiled.

"I mean when you consider he doesn't look like me, I'd say it's a fair compromise."

"Not true,"mused her lover. "He's got your face shape, and your eyes-"

"People would always ask if he was adopted. You'd be surprised at the amount of taboo that exists around interspecies children."

"I'm afraid a lot of people aren't that open minded." Lux agreed. "Take my former wife, for instance. She was absolutely _livid_ when I told her about my "friendship" with you." Lux's air quotes made clear the idea that he had never compromised the true details of their relationship to anyone.

"Oh, don't worry. Reactions back on Shili were just as bad." The memories Ahsoka had buried were now coming out of her mouth all at once."I stayed in the rural part of the planet, where my people were from. They were pretty conservative about the whole thing. Even the woman who acted as midwife wanted nothing to do with him as soon as she put him on my chest."

"Wait-"Lux held onto the words she had said earlier, choosing not to react in anger toward the jerks who thought treating Ahsoka like that was okay."You found your family."

She pursed her lips."Not exactly. Whoever they were, they had either moved or died. Nobody in that village was related to me."

The truth of the situation settled into the new father's face, the truth that both he and Ahsoka were both orphans, and had no other surviving family except for their son. Aidan would never know grandparents or uncles or aunts or cousins.

"I know what you're thinking."

Lux startled back into reality."Of course you do."

"When Aidan was younger, he would always beg me for two things: his father, and some siblings." Her lekku dark with embarrassment, Ahsoka watched Lux for a reaction of some kind. Sadly, she was disappointed- he didn't choke on the sip of water he had taken.

"I mean, I did the same thing when I was younger."Lux shrugged." I hated being an only child."

"Once he hit ten years old, though, he began to enjoy being alone. But, to this day, I still wish things were different and we could have maybe given him a little brother or two."

"Even if things had been different." Lux began as he gathere her empty plate so he could take it to the sink."We both know it would not have been safe to knowingly bring children into the galaxy as it is now."

"That's your opinion." Ahsoka shrugged. "I think it all depends on how good your parenting skills are."

When Lux sat back down, he didn't assume the posture of before. Instead, he assumed one of a tired, broken man.

"Maybe one day." He offered."If this rebellion of ours works, other people will have the chance to get what we never had."

"What did we never have?"

"A family."

"Lux, _we are_ a family, even if Aidan doesn't know it yet."

"A family by blood, yes." Lux took a deep breath and Ahsoka had the gut feeling that she was not going to like what she heard next. "Not in anyway else."

"I never gave Aidan an official last name, if that's what you mean."

"No, that's not what I mean... What I'm trying to say is..." Lux paused and made a face, attempted to start the sentence two more times, then finally found his words."Even if you and I were to decide to get married, Aidan would never be recognized as a legitimized heir, but rather as my... As my.."He choked out the words that Ahsoka dreaded to hear." As my bastard son."

"That's not right!" Ahsoka exclaimed. "Aidan is not a bas-"

"I'm sorry, Ahsoka!"He interrupted before she could curse their son's name again."That's just the way customs work. On Onderon and most of the other developed planets. It's just a fact: my former stepdaughter has more claim to the family name than he does."

Ahsoka blinked, trying to process all of the information she had just heard. "But Lux, he's your son. Your firstborn child."

He shook his greeting head. "I don't make the rules. But I can appeal them one day, if we win this war."

"Or maybe..." An idea began to take shape in that mischievous mind of hers. She wasn't about to deny the facts: Togruta women have much lengthier time of being fertile. "The fact of the matter is, Togruta always have large families. It's in my blood, Lux. Literally. I can have kids for another forty years if I really wanted to."

Her words had an adverse affect. "Ahsoka, I'm not going to... to use you like that."

"It's not "using me","she countered."We'll get married, duh! Then we can give Aidan the little brother I know he wants."

"I'm not worried about having legitimate children!" Lux insisted, raising his voice. "I don't want them. I'm too old for any more."

"That's what society tells you."

"That's what common sense tells me!"

Ahsoka could tell that he was truly angry because his cheeks were beginning to get flush. Wanting no more than to keep Lux on her side, and diffuse the situation, Ahsoka out a hand on his.

"I never meant to upset you." She assured him, softly. "It doesn't matter to me, either. Just promise me this, Lux... Whatever we decide to do in the future, that we'll do it right. If we decide to get married, we'll take it slow and not go through some whirlwind romance like everyone expects us to. If we decide to have kids, or if it just happens again, we raise them together. I love you, Lux, but you know a well as I do that we really just need to start over."

Again, Lux hung onto the wrong words she had spoken. "You want more children?"

"Lux, forget about the kids!" Ahsoka exclaimed, exasperated. For someone trained in the intricate art of negotiation and conversing, Lux was certainly a bad listener.

Laughing quietly at his cute, yet utter, denseness, Ahsoka took both of Lux's hands in hers, beginning to say something as she felt the absence of the ring on Lux's finger.

"You know, usually I'm the one who favors a slow progression. I'd never think you'd ever suggest going slow." Lux whispered as of his hands escaped hers and reached for her chin, then her cheek. With practiced gentleness, Lux lifted her face so she was looking into his eyes.

"I never said-"

"Shh..."He whispered , tracing his thumb over her cheek."I can read you mind, too. And I'm as done as you are with "taking things slow". Taking things slow is what you do when you don't have a war going on or an evil Empire breathing down your neck..."

"I can see through your eyes that you're a hypocrite hiding behind words you think I want to hear."

Ahsoka's heart began to beat faster when she realized that Lux was _right,_ even if she hadn't believed her own words.

"I know I may have said differently yesterday, but now I know... I'm done taking things slow. Forget it. Two decades has been long enough,"Lux declared. He leaned forward and made to kiss her-

-but was interrupted by the stereotypical comlink ring, which went unanswered as both parties froze.

Lux's eyes widened after he realized what he'd just tried to do. Ahsoka was equally shocked. She would never in a million years expect Lux to initiate a kiss like that. He wasn't that impulsive.

But she was.

Ahsoka pulled him in by his collar and kissed him.

The kiss lasted little more than three seconds, no more than a slight peck, but it was still more than both of them were expecting

"I can't believe-"Ahsoka gasped after they parted. "You're not mad at me."

"Why would I be mad at you?" He asked, leaning away from her lips while gently brushing one of her lekku.

Her breath hitched, but Ahsoka was still able to articulate the concerns she had about having threatened to kill him. "I'm not mad at you for not remembering Aidan." She clarified.

"I know." He kissed her softly again."Thank you for giving me the chance to be on the right side."

He leaned forward yet again, but Ahsoka gently pushed him away so she could look directly into his eyes. "I would never hurt you, Lux. Not even if I had ever seen you as part of the Empire, I would never be able to."

They were leaning in again, but Ahsoka's comlink chirped again. This time, she answered it, figuring that if Rex had called more than once than it was important.

"Aidan's ship just landed." Rex reported, as promised. "Do I need to keep him away?"

Ahsoka didn't answer immediately, she looked at Lux first. Despite the hopeful look in his eyes, he also shrugged and surrendered the choice up to her. If she thought it was time for them to meet-

"Yes, please." Ahsoka decided and hung up. "I'm sorry,Lux. I really am, I just don't think he's ready to meet you."

"You know him better than I do." Lux relented, but Ahsoka could still tell the hurt in his voice.

"Tell you what?"She resolved. "I can show you more holos. _Recent_ ones."

Lux nodded his agreement. "Yes, please."


	20. Chapter 20

Aidan didn't understand why the atmosphere had changed, why Rex was suddenly trying to keep him busy-"Let's go to the shooting range. You love the shooting range!"- And pushing him along even if all Aidan wanted to do is shower and sleep for days on end.

"I don't like the shooting range." Aidan murmured, rubbing his face with a hand with an effort to keep from falling asleep. "Just let me shower and take a nap and then I'll go with you."

"Not in your place, you won't!" Rex quickly intercepted Aidan's steps. Even though the clone captain was nearly two heads shorter than Aidan he still made an effective road block. "There was a cave in, the officer's rooms in the west wing are all buried in snow."

"So where's mom, then?"

"In a meeting!" Rex's fable wasn't a total lie, but it would be difficult to keep up.

"Then I'll nap until it's over. At your place."

Rex huffed."Okay. Thank you."

"You'll have plenty of time to consider telling me the truth while I'm asleep." Aidan said from over his shoulder, already walking away.

 _Dammit_. Rex thought, _why are they both so good at reading right through me?_

"I'm not hidin' anything, kid. It's your mother with all the secrecy, so don't be mad at me."

"I'm not." Aidan insisted, still refusing to slow down as Rex followed as fast as he could, given that Aidan's strides were nearly twice the length and tempo of his own.

True to his intentions, when Rex reached his quarters the kid was already asleep on the pull out cot Rex kept for just this purpose. Hopefully, Aidan would sleep until Ahsoka deemed it possible for him to go back.

 **oooooooooooooo**

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Ahsoka asked Lux, her heart pounding with a strange sense of excitement as she prepared to show him the most recent picture she had of their son. Most recent, and most accurate.

"I've been ready." Lux responded, hastily putting down the rest of the holos and various keepsakes Ahsoka had brought out.

"It's gonna be like looking in a mirror." Ahsoka warned, handing Lux the holo that was from the past year. "Except-"

Lux cut her off, essentially finishing her thought. "He's got your eyes."

"I told you that already."

"I didn't realize that you _meant_ it."

Ahsoka just pursed her lips to hide a smile. Lux was dumbstruck all over again, holding the holo at an angle to investigate it with his aging eyes (he was two years older than she was).

"Blonde hair?" Lux asked, puzzled. "How did that happen? Nobody in my family has blonde hair."

"And nobody in my family is human- welcome to the club." She quipped,"It's a genetic miracle, along with the fact that he was conceived in the first place."

Lux hummed in agreement, still glued to Aidan's holo like a kid to a cartoon. "If he were to have short brown hair instead of long blonde- I'll be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about the man-bun- he'd look _just like_ his grandfather."

Given that Ahsoka had never actually seen Lux's father, she couldn't affirm or deny his observation. "I'm not sure if his face is more like yours or mine. That could be what you're seeing... I did think a few times that Aidan looked like your mother, but that's it."

"No. He's just like my father."

 _Alright, then._

Obviously struggling to follow through with his actions, Lux handed the holo back to Ahsoka- his eyes looked sadder, but also more fulfilled. His whole persona had changed. "Now I know what my son looks like." He whispered. "I can know who I'm looking for in the halls-"

"Lux, you know that it wouldn't be smart to seek him out."

"I'm not going to." Lux insisted," I'll just know who to look for."

"I know Aidan, but at times I can't exactly know what he'll do or how he'll react. That's why I'm not too keen on introducing you to him."

"It's alright if he's mad." Lux shrugged."I mean, I deserve it. You both can be mad at me. As long as he doesn't try to kill me like you did."

"He probably will."

"Oh." Lux's smile dropped, but really, he didn't know what else to expect from Ahsoka's son. He'd probably be just like she was when he knew her as a teenager. Impulsive, yet still tolerable.

Seated a few feet away from him, Ahsoka scoffed. "Tolerable?"

Lux just groaned. _Enough with the mind reading! "_ This is exactly what I mean."

"We both have our moments. But in the end, you still love both of us."

"Guilty as charged." Lux agreed, a bit flustered at the same time. "But please stop reading my mind."

She shrugged."Fine. But..." In one swift movement, Ahsoka turned ninety degrees and adjusted herself so that both of her legs were crossed on the bed, facing him a meter away. "Ask me all the questions you've been dying to know."

"Ummm..."Lux faltered, as his mind cleared itself of all the questions now that he ha been put on the spot. "Like what?"

She shrugged."What normal dads ask their kids."

" _Normal_ dads?"

She rolled her eyes. "What are some things you know about your daughter that you'd want to know about Aidan, too?"

That got Lux thinking. Despite being Redia's stepfather, he basically raised her alone. She always went to him when she had problems even as Niisha tried to poison their relationship.

"Does he prefer to keep his problems to himself, or will he sit down and talk with you about them?"

"He's...very independent." Ahsoka ventrueed to say. "But that's how I had raised him to be, on the premise that something could happen to me. Now I realize I didn't want him to be like that at all."

"You did what you thought was right." Lux excused her, and began scanning his mind for anything else to say before Ahsoka felt guilty.

Too late. "I put him in danger so many times, Lux, and sometimes, _he_ was the one who got hurt."

"All parents make mistakes." Lux assured her. It was a stereotypical idea, but one that he had learnt was true over the years. "Fighting a war doesn't make it any easier. I had to do terrible things to keep my daughter safe, and eventually it led to her hating me." He paused."Same goes for Aidan, I guess."

"And this war is nowhere near over. I try to say otherwise, but I doubt Aidan's fooled."

"Is he a smart kid?" Lux asked.

Gradually, Ahsoka began to nod." Yes. I would say so."

Slightly impressed, Lux leaned back and supported himself with hands behind him.

"I mean, for what it counts, he's first in many of his classes."

Lux raised an eyebrow."What classes?"

"Tactical warfare, linguistics, self defense..." At Lux's expression, Ahsoka decided not to continue and shrugged. "You asked! Besides- there's a difference between being smart and being intelligent."

"I know, Ahsoka!" Lux exclaimed. "I didn't mean to seem upset- I just find it hard to comprehend this reality the two of you have lived in while I was oblivious to all of it! What if something had happened to you when Aidan was younger, who would have taken charge of him?! How would you have let me know?"

"I wouldn't have."She said, matter of factly. "The danger would have been too great."

Lux huffed, not completely angry, but still quite upset that Ahsoka had thought like that.

"Lux, please try to understand." Ahsoka pleaded."It would have been dangerous to give you Aidan, and dangerous to those around you, too. I knew about your daughter and that you'd want to keep her safe above everything else."

Humming noncommitantly, Lux stood up and stretched his legs. "And you really don't know when I will see him?"

She shook her head. "You're supposed to be the patient one, remember?"

He raised an eyebrow, but she just grinned at him. "Soon, Lux. I promise."

 **oooooooooooooooo**

The war grew impatient before Lux did.

A few weeks after their talk, news that the Empire was approaching reached the ears of all the Rebellion. Officers gathered for secret meetings, trying not to spread panic to the others.

Ahsoka had to lie when Lux asked her what the problem was. She kept saying that it was nothing, and Lux actually bought it. On another hand, Aidan figured it out himself and began a frenzy of activity, dragging his mother or Rex just about anywhere to fight or train.

By this time, Ahsoka knew full well that Rex and Lux work working against her in order to try and catch Aidan alone. Rex believed that Aidan needed the truth before this climactic, possible end to all their lives, and Lux, oblivious to the upcoming attack, just wanted to see his son.

So Ahsoka trained herself not to react if she caught Lux watching her and Aidan spar. Ignored him because she had to. Aidan paid the man no heed if he saw him.

When news got out about the probe droid, and the missing Skywalker, Ahsoka knew before everyone else did that this was the end. _She_ was the one who planted seeds of retreat and evacuation in Leia's mind, despite knowing that the girl wanted nothing more than the opposite. Ahsoka gave the pilots who were not flying snow speeders or y-wings their orders: begin evacuating the hurt and the sick, and the young, because those were all they could spare, however, if things went south, the rebellion would start up again.

Much to her chagrin, Hera was forced to evacuate with her one-year-old son, who seemed the most distraught out of any soldier on the base because of his constant crying due to his force senses.

Once she had seen them leave personally, Ahsoka felt some of the weight be lifted from her soldiers and turned back to the main part of the base, and wasn't surprised to find Lux standing there, behind her.

"You knew, didn't you?" He asked. Given that he was dressed similar to Aidan, Lux must have just been briefed this very morning.

"Of course you did." He answered for her silence.

Ahsoka knew she had a lot to do before the doomsday clock hit zero, but she also wouldn't like to spend it any other way than with Lux. Their relationship over the past few months had been nothing but shared glances in the hall and maybe a quick kiss (or more) if he was able to catch her without Aidan in her apartment.

Now, in the sparsely traveled section of the base, Ahsoka ignored the happenings around her and planted a chaste kiss to Lux's lips, expecting him to respond with more since the coast was clear.

He hardly even reacted, just tilted his head to signal his enjoyment and then separated when air ran out. "No." He insisted. "Not now..."

Disappointed, Ahsoka took a step away from him and turned away. "Then when?"

"I could be dead in a few hours... Just my luck to be part of the vanguard-"

"I'll be flying. I'll protect you."

"You won't be able to if the Empire's brought what I think they have." Lux said with remorse.

"Please, Ahsoka." Begged her lover, finally getting to his point. "Let me meet him before I die."

"You aren't going to-" She began, and hardly had time to react before she was grabbing his hand and running away from where they'd been standing.

"Cave in!" She yelled, using the hand that didn't have Lux to scream into her comlink. "South wing- everyone out, _now!"_

It was probably the disturbance in the planet by the war machines Lux spoke of. If that was true, then the Empire had already arrived, and they needed to get to their stations.

"Lux." Ahsoka said when the two of them stopped running and he was rushing off to the trenches above ground.

"We're not going to die." She told him. "But, just the same, I love you more than life itself."

He smiled, and whether he believed it or not, responded for her to "save it for the wedding."

Then Rex had stormed in and grabbed him by the back of the jacket because "dammit Bonteri we were supposed to be up there five minutes ago!" And dragged him off to the surface.

In the next three minutes, Ahsoka threw on her pilot suit on top of her warmest clothes and jumped into her ship, apologizing for what had taken her so long.


	21. Chapter 21

The ragtag army of rebels, the current count just under 200 people were crammed into the trenches.

"Okay, okay! You can let go of me now!" Lux shrugged out of Rex's grasp moments before they were hit by the cold of the outdoors. "That really wasn't necessa-"

There was a terrific boom overhead, and, absorbed in the battle overhead, Rex just shoved the younger man ahead.

It wasn't that Lux didn't know _how_ to fight... he certainly did, and Rex had taught him both years and weeks ago. It was just that now, on the battlefield, the blaster in his hands suddenly felt very heavy, and his palms, even inside of the gloves, became very sweaty.

His body finally unfroze and he chased after Rex, trying to ignore the fact that the Empire was about to obliterate the entire rebel base with their walkers.

Lux, Rex, and Sashu regrouped just in time to see the first wave of Rebel snow speeders take to the skies. Remembering why Ahsoka had said, Lux wondered if she was one of them.

Most of the speeders didn't get far. With incredible accuracy, they were shot down by the Imperial walkers, even as their own shots did nothing.

 _Oh, God._ Lux thought to himself, _we don't stand a chance!_

Rex must've noticed his defeated expression, because the man stopped shooting and ran over to him. "Do you know how to stop them?!" He bellowed, struggling to be heard over the noises of the battlefield.

"Just because I was once one of them doesn't mean I have all the answers!" _C'mon, Lux! Think!_ _You had to have read this somewhere._

While he was still pondering, he could hear Ahsoka's voice screaming at Rex through his comlink, asking Rex the same thing he was demanding of Lux.

Explosions were going off closer and closer to the groups position; the nearest turret went up in flames as the gunner was thrown off, dead before he hit the ground.

"The neck!" Lux's eyes opened with the epiphany and Rex quickly relayed the information to Ahsoka, whose comlink only broadcasted static. Everyone pretended not to notice.

The vanguard was ordered to advance: whether from Lux's help or not, the walkers were all mostly destroyed, and now only imperial ground troops remained.

They still had better weapons, though. Gunners with enough firepower to fell five men at once if they were close enough in vicinity.

Somehow, in the middle of the fray, Lux found himself separated from Rex and Sashu. It seemed impossible to lose a man that big, but in the thick of battle anything was possible, Lux supposed.

Ten yards in front of him, an explosion went off, and Lux high-tailed it back to the trenches, feeling that he was safer there.

The first time a trooper got close to him, Lux closed his eyes and fired, not wanting to think about the life he had just ended, the family he had just destroyed, the parents and siblings he had just devastated. You could say he became numb, and the next few enemies he encountered were shot dead with little thought.

Then, he couldn't fire fast enough. As he attempted to get his weapon unjammed,a blaster bolt whizzed near centimeters from his shoulder and into the snow next to him. Lux dropped instantly, breathing heavily with his back flat against the side of the trench. There was a few seconds of pregnant silence as Lux waited for that trooper to find him and shoot him, and he had a terrible feeling that the blaster wouldn't be set for stun like Iden's was.

He checked his own weapon: still jammed. If that trooper had the nerve to peek over the side to find him-

Lux didn't have the chance to consider what he would do as he never got the chance to do it. He heard muffled yelling and a few blaster shots, but ultimately, his would-be killer ended up lying on the snow next to him. Dead, as if he had been pushed in after his neck was snapped.

Even though it wasn't a far fall, and even though the dead man was the enemy, Lux still was bombarded with unwelcome flashbacks upon seeing the broken body of his friend Steela at the bottom of that cliff.

She hadn't died so that this _war_ could happen.

Had he failed her?

A friendly red face appeared above Lux, interrupting his thoughts as Sashu waved meekly at him. "Hey, Lux."

Lux took a moment to gather his breath. "Hey, Sashu."

The Togruta offered a hand, and Lux took it and climbed out of the trench that he'd been cowering in for some time. If Sashu noticed what he had been doing, he didn't comment, and Lux patted him on the shoulder once he was onto a flat surface again.

"Where's Rex?" He asked his friend.

"On the ship." Sashu answered. "He got hurt, I had to carry him there because he wanted to fight more."

 _Sounds about right._ Lux could imagine the scene.

"Where do we go now?"

Sashu looked around a minute, at the bodies, both Rebel and Imperial, that littered the snowy plain. At the sheets of metal and debris that poked up from the surface, some still with burning fires.

The only signs of life that were the few remaining snow speeders had landed so their pilots could prepare for transport on the last remaining shuttle.

"To the ship." His friend replied, and they began their trek across the snowy desert.

 **ooooooooooooooooooooooo**

On the transport, in the middle of space, Ahsoka was hurrying from her transport in hopes of seeing her boys back alive and well.

Rex, okay except for a concussion, was under careful watch by Sashu. The medbay was too full to care for a "basic" injury like his, and as such the man was currently asleep slumped against a wall. The longer he slept, the longer Ahsoka would likely go without knowing Aidan's whereabouts. Knowing her son, he had probably become self appointed to the job of gunner as soon as their other men had been killed or injured. He'd probably be one of the last to file in.

Standing back up after checking on Rex, Ahsoka made eye contact with Lux as he waited a few steps away. Unusual, given the size of the crowd, Ahsoka pulled Lux into a hug.

"I knew we'd be okay." She whispered in his ear.

Lux shook his head, ashamed as he muttered something about being a coward.

"War can make even the bravest man a coward." Ahsoka supplied as the two separated. A selfish thought crossed Lux's mind when her warmth escaped his arms: where would they sleep if their base was destroyed? How would he and Ahsoka enjoy their stolen moments?

Ahsoka embraced him once more, quickly, then complained that he needed a shower before moving away as she zeroed in on the blonde haired figure of her son.

Noting her distraction, Lux risked a look through his peripheral vision in order to glance at who she was with. His breathing hitched and he suddenly found it hard to swallow when he got his first _real_ look of his son.

Given the recent battle, Aidan looked and probably smelled worse than his father did, but under all those sweat streaks and blood stains Lux could just see the handsome, well defined face underneath.

Ahsoka and Aidan were exchanging a few words that he couldn't hear, and then he was forced to look away when Aidan began shooting him suspicious glances.

"Who is that guy, mom?" Aidan asked, speaking Togruti in a hushed tone.

"An old friend." His mother answered in a similar way. Inwardly, Ahsoka was panicking because she was almost a hundred percent sure that Lux understood Togruti.

Aidan's eyebrows furrowed when he inspected the mystery man again from afar. "I don't buy it. You don't _hug_ old friends. You hardly even hug _me."_

"That's because you complain when I do." Ahsoka teased, hoping her son didn't realize her uneasiness, (he wasn't supposed to have seen her hug anyone, especially Lux), Ahsoka hastily wrapped up their conversation, promising to introduce him later.

"In the meantime." She begged."Please go and get your arm checked out."

There was dried blood on Aidan's bicep, the man glanced at it and shrugged. "Just some glass. I'm fine, mom."

"You won't be fine when tiny bits of glass shards make their way into your bloodstream!" She exaggerated, and gestured toward the medbay. Aidan grumbled something about "more imprtant injuries" but complied, shoving the random friend of his mother's out of his way when he walked. Lux watched him leave.

"He's a real charmer." Sashu huffed in Togruti. Both Lux and Ahsoka stared at him. They'd forgotten he was sitting there, too, and he didn't know the context of the family drama.

"Let me know when Rex wakes up, Sashu." Ahsoka told their friend. "Lux and I are gonna go get some food."

Lux wasn't sure if that was code or not. He was too tired to care. He just wanted to shower and sleep. Ahsoka must've known this, because she walked them straight to a wing dedicated to barracks and whatnot, magically obtained and tossed Lux a towel, shampoo and a razor and told him he had ten minutes to meet her in the mess hall.

 _I never knew snow could be so_ dirty.Lux thought as he stripped and then stepped under the cool current. It wasn't warm, but the water was still warmer than Hoth's tropical temperature and he couldn't complain. A surprising amount of dirt mingled with all the sweat he had generated in those few short minutes before it all was sent down the drain.

A hall an a half away, Ahsoka finished with her own shower in two minutes and then sat wondering how she and Lux were gonna sort out this mess. Aidan _needed_ to know: imagine if one of them had gotten hurt and left the other two to figure the rest of their lives out?

No. This whole facade needed to end... Preferrably with all three of them able to talk it out.

"Just let me talk to him." Lux tried later during a meal, unaware of just how foolish that sounded. "I just need a few weeks to earn trust, then we can decide how to move forward."

"That wouldn't work." Ahsoka said, already shaking her head. "Aidan has a habit of reading people- he'd figure it out in a matter of minutes."

"And say he does." Lux went along with her scenario. "It'll all be about trust and building a relationship. That's how this stuff works, I suppose."

"This would be so much easier if he was still a kid." Ahsoka huffed, stabbing wearily at her meal.

"Well I, for one, am surprised he hasn't discovered us yet." Lux commented as he took a bite of what appeared to be meat.

"Why? I told you, I'm good at keeping secrets, even if that secret is the fact we're sleeping together." Ahsoka enjoyed how Lux flushed up with embarrassment and caution at those words.

"What?" She hid her smile by taking a drink. "I've told you that Aidan isn't blessed with force powers. And, you'd be surprised at how many people have not-so-secret relationships around here."

Lux shook his head in an effort to stop thinking about that. "Anyways, about Aidan..."

"I think I need to be the one to tell him." Ahsoka said.

"No."Lux protested."You said it yourself, he may become angry and attack. Serves me right if he does."

"Yes, Lux. I hear you the other nineteen times you've said that! And no, you don't deserve what Aidan will do to you. Don't forget, it was _I_ who decided not to brave the circumstances to tell you. Remember all those comlink calls we had while I was actually pregnant? I could've told you then, and I chose not to."

Lux's aging mind had a difficult time recalling that, but once he did, he chose not to become angry. "You did what you thought was best at the time."

"And I was wrong." Ahsoka set her eating utensils down, finished eating."And I leave us to clean up the mess later."

"A mess I would _gladly_ pick up." Lux assured her. "Now... Should we go check on Aidan and Rex?"

"As long as you don't spoil anything." She insisted. Little did he know, she planned on doing it anyway.

"My lips are sealed."

 **oooooooooooooo**

 **Author's note:**

 **Hey guys! School's officially out now, and I have summer to write and improve my skills in English!!! School also finished in time for the real Luxoka to begin ;).**

 **I would like to promise that updates will be Friday, however I do have a major surgery coming up and I don't react to anesthesia well so I may skip a week after the procedure.**

 **Also, for no particular reason whatsoever, leave a review "girl" or "boy" (okay fine, you can have a hint- it's Luxoka related, in case you haven't inferred.)**

 **Or just... Review, because I like to know that you guys are enjoying it!!!!!**

 **Looking forward to what you guys will have to say and may the force be with you,**

 **Dinui**


	22. Chapter 22

Aidan's arm was sealed with sutures and put in a sling, but otherwise he was fine. Rex woke up when Ahsoka touched his shoulder and almost immediately fell over onto his side before passing out again.

Given the amount of concussions she herself had in the past, Ahsoka prescribed rest and elected Lux and Sashu to help carry him to a bunk. Correction; Sashu did it all by himself after Lux dropped Rex's feet three times.

"How is this guy your friend?" Aidan whisper-asked his mother outside the room where Rex was placed."He's clumsy and he's weak."

"What can I say?" Ahsoka responded with a twinkle in her eye."Opposites attract."

Aidan continued his list of grievances even when Lux was walking toward them,rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. When he heard Aidan's remarks and how Ahsoka tried desperately to shush him, a mischievous smile crossed his face.

"Hello, Aidan. I'm Lux Bonteri. Your mother has told me a lot about you." Lux introduced himself-in near perfect Togruti.

Ahsoka full-on snorted while Aidan's jaw hit the ground, embarrassment clear on his face. It took a bit, but he finally accepted Lux's handshake.

If Aidan could see the similarity of their two ears, he didn't comment. If he could see their similar cheekbones, he didn't comment. If he noticed _anything_ _at all,_ he didn't comment, just glared at his mother for not saying anything about Lux knowing their language.

His mother shrugged, as if to say "I warned you."

"What's a human like you doing speaking our language?" Aidan asked, rather like a confrontation.

"Well, a human like me happens to come from a home planet where most of the population shares your heritage. Learning the language was just a bonus."

Ahsoka felt the burst of force energy from when Aidan and his father grasped hands- she wondered if Aidan was attuned enough to realize it, too.

"So, what planet were you talking about?" Aidan asked, legitimately interested.

"Onderon." Lux responded with a smile. "I was a senator, back when I was your age."

"My age? I'm twenty!"

"I know." Lux said, still grinning.

Aidan was shocked, he'd always assumed senators were just lazy fat jerks who were twice Lux's age. Now, it seemed he was wrong. Lux had to be about forty, and he still looked young and healthy.

Inwardly, the boy was thinking... _Senator of Onderon? Sounds... Familiar._

 _I've met this man before..._

"I don't know if you remember this-" Aidan began at the exact same time Lux asked if he remembered a time from sixteen years ago on the planet of Alderaan.

"Mom!" Aidan exclaimed, turning to her. "I know why he's so familiar! _This_ is the man who rescued me from Tarkin all those years ago!"

 _Oh, he did more than that._

"And I never said thank you." Aidan remembered. Lux was about to offer another handshake, like a gentleman, but was surprised with a one handed embrace from his son.

"I don't think you realize how much that meant to me. I mean, I was only four years old at the time, but I knew that Tarkin would've done terrible things to me if he caught me alone. And he almost did do terrible things a few years later."

In the split second that he was hugging Aidan, Lux mouthed to Ahsoka something along the lines of "ohmygodlook'Sokahe'shuggingmewhatdoIdo?"

Just as much in shock at Aidan's sudden display of emotion, Ahsoka just shrugged back. Lux was finally getting a taste of his own awkwardness from the one who mirrored it best.

"Okay. Well." Aidan fumbled awkwardly for words once he let go of Lux, all to soon in Lux's opinion. "I should go find someone..." He turned to Ahsoka. "Mom, have you seen Leia and Landen?"

"Uhh, I'm not sure where Leia is. I think Landen is in another medbay."

As his son rushed off, Lux managed to fight the euphoria and ask who Landen was.

"His boyfriend." Ahsoka responded as nonchalant as possible.

Still looking in the direction Aidan had left, Lux didn't seem to register what she had said, just continued to admire his son."He's so _old."_

"Have _you_ looked in a mirror lately, grandpa?" Ahsoka teased, looking pointedly to Lux's grey hair and making sure to point out the spot Lux had missed shaving with a playful flick to his chin.

"Grandpa? Oh, I hope not... If there's one thing I pray you taught that boy..."

"Oh I've taken care of it. Don't worry. He won't be having sex anytime soon."

Lux's eyes danced with amusement that may have been tainted with embarrassment but also a hint of pride. "We weren't a very good example, now, were we?"

Ahsoka's eyes changed from those of a proud mother to those of a mischievous woman playing with her lover. "No, not at all." She leaned in for a kiss after deciding the coast was clear.

"I'm so proud of you." Lux murmured into her lekku as he briefly parted from her.

She scoffed. "Proud of _me?"_

"You raised Aidan alone into a wonderful man." He explained,and gave her another quick kiss. "Better than I could ever have done it."

She hummed against his shoulder and began to play with the top button of his shirt.

Lux chuckled at her eagerness and impatience. Some things just never change.

"What do you say we go and see if your bed on here is a bit bigger than the last one?" He asked suggestively, placing his hand on the small of her back just below her lekku. The touch made her squirm a bit.

"Even if it doesn't..."She answered, just as sneakily as he had spoken. "It's gotta be better than this wall I have you pinned on."

She took hold of his hand and, rather insistently pulled him away.

 **oooooooooooooooooooo**

Ahsoka couldn't have prepared for the insistent knocking on her door late that night, long after she and Lux had drifted off to sleep.

A quick look into the force told her that it was Aidan.

 _Oh, kriff._ She cussed inwardly. All that needed to happen now was a slight noise from Lux and she'd have a lot of explaining to do.

"Mom!" Aidan yelled, knocked again three times. Loudly.

"Wha-"Lux mumbled, beginning to blink his eyes open and sit up. Ahsoka pushed him back down and covered his mouth with her hand. His eyes widened and he nodded in understanding, lifting the covers to hide himself as if that would work.

At this point, Ahsoka knew that whatever Aidan needed, it was urgent. He never knocked like this unless it was an emergency.

"What is it?" She asked, opening the door just enough to poke her head out and see him.

"I can't find- wait, are you not dressed?"

"I was just about to get in the shower." She lied, praying that Lux stayed hidden behind her.

"At 130 in the morning?"

"Don't judge me."

He pursed his lips, but whatever he was planning on saying next was outdone by his need to relay his actual news.

"Rex is awake. And I..." Ahsoka was alarmed to hear Aidan choke up. She could see his Adam's apple bobbing at the base of his throat as he struggled for words. "Did you know Landen was dead?"

The news hit her hard. Her face relayed the sense of pure shock at the news."No, I didn't. Are you sure-"

"There's a whole list of people." Aidan said mournfully, "We lost Captain Evon as well as most of my fellow special forces, and Leia's unaccounted for." Despite the heaviness of that sentence, the real kicker was about to come."Why do I keep losing the ones I care about?"

Still hiding, Lux could hear Aidan's lamenting from across the room and realized how much it hurt him to hear his son ask the questions nobody should ever have to consider. When Ahsoka came back into the room to get dressed again, she didn't say a word of explanation, but Lux could hear her saying "Leia. No, not Leia," under her breath.

He wondered if this was the first time Ahsoka had this talk with their son. Probably not- and it wouldn't be the last.

Another two minutes and Ahsoka had left the room to go to Aidan. Lux wanted nothing more than to help comfort him, too, but knew that it would do more harm than good at this stage of the game. He dressed himself, but continued to lay there in Ahsoka's bed, stunned.

After half an hour, Lux couldn't hear any more crying (he hoped Aidan wasn't ashamed to cry. Men were allowed to cry, too,) he slipped out of the room and down the hall. Ahsoka was asleep on one side of the couch, with Aidan's head resting in her lap and his feet hanging off the other side of the couch. Both of their faces were tear streaked.

He snuck out only after making sure to wrap each of them in a blanket. Now, he was off to find where he belonged- he'd heard Aidan say that Rex was awake, perhaps he'd go check on him.

"Hey, kid."Rex croaked when he saw Lux enter. "Where were you?"

Lux mumbled something about getting lost. When Rex just raised an eyebrow, he decided it was best just to say that he'd been with Ahsoka.

"You think I'll live long enough to see another 'Soka running around?" He teased; then coughed.

If he was being honest, Lux wasn't opposed to the idea and was just glad Rex didn't want to kill him. "Well, we'd like to get married before anything-"

"Nobody gets married these days,anyway. Just ask one of the higher-ups and you can be married in three hours. Ask me, learn a bit of Mandalorian and you can be married in three sentences!"

Lux didn't find that amusing. While what Rex said was true about the uncommon practice of marriage,he'd still want to marry Ahsoka for real.

"Oh, by the way, you're in the hammock tonight. Sashu took your bed, seeing as he's too big to try otherwise." Rex pointed up above him. Just like Aidan, Lux could see three of Sashu's four limbs hanging off various parts of the bunk above him. "I myself would move, but..."

Lux waved it off. He wouldn't have asked to give up his place, anyway. As he picked up the hammock's pieces, Lux began a new topic with his friend.

"Rex, how do I comfort Aidan?"

The old man was silent a moment, then asked what happened. As he hung each of the hammock straps on two bunks and climbed in, Lux recounted how Aidan had come to Ahsoka's door crying about losing his friends and Leia.

"That boy doesn't know how to really mourn." Rex answered, and Lux could tell he was speaking from experience. "I'm afraid he just bottles it up. Not much you can do."

 _Bottles it up. Just like me,_ Lux lamented, gently swaying back and forth in his hammock.

He was quiet for such a long time that Rex called out to him to check that he was still awake. The former senator offered nothing but a hum of acknowledgement in return, and then nothing a few moments later as sleep took over.


	23. Chapter 23

"Coordinate M-17 in the Outer Rim." Lux announced, leaning over the side of the map before them.

Fresh returned from the newest disaster, Leia had asked for any Intel regarding a safe place for the Rebellion to regroup. With his knowledge, Lux was listing off every safe sector he knew to be examined for possible use.

"Are you sure about that, Lux?" Ahsoka asked beside him. "Sullust is a major provider of the Empire's and-"

"They've only got a small force there." Lux countered. "We can take it over. Besides, the Empire has long since moved on to bigger and better places."

"Send the special forces in." Aidan suggested beside Leia. Ever since her return, Aidan hadn't left his friend's side except to sleep. "We're ready."

"With only half your manpower?" Leia asked. "No. Not a chance."

"Then he can come." Aidan gestured to Lux. "He's ex-Imperial. He'll probably come in handy for clearance codes and all that. I can find three more besides him."

Everyone was now staring at either Lux or Aidan. Those who stared at Lux were wondering who he was to have a first name basis with Commander Tano. Those who stared at Aidan stared at him because he was a bit crazy for talking back to General Organa.

"It's only one base."Aidan insisted."Half our special forces could take that easily as long as we have someone who knows the Empire."

General Dodonna was leaning over and whispering a warning in Leia's ear but she pushed him away. Clearly, she had already made a decision.

"Assemble your team." She told Aidan."We'll go from there."

"Leia-" Dodonna began.

"It's the best real lead we've got right now!"Leia exclaimed in frustration."The risk is worth it. Lieutenant Tano has _never_ brought back a casualty, and I doubt he'd start this time."

The two old friends exchanged a glance that in turn put a smile on Aidan's parents faces. Ahsoka wiggled her eyebrows discreetly and Lux had to hold back a fit of laughter at her suggestion.

"Everyone is dismissed. Senator Bonteri, thank you for the Intel."

"I do what I can." Lux humbly replied.

With Aidan off to assemble his team and Lux knowing he was part of it, he had a bit of anxiety towards the idea of actually executing the plan. Sure, he'd been working on skills as a combatant and whatnot, and he knew that Aidan was an excellent leader, but something was going to happen. He could just feel it, Jedi or no.

"Uh, Lux?" Ahsoka asked him, interrupting his spaced-out state. Her partner was still gripping the side of the projector, staring intently into one direction. "Aren't you gonna go get ready?"

"How long do I have?"

"Probably an hour, if all is like usual."

"What about you?"

"I don't go along on these kind of things." She waved a hand dismissively. "My job is usually to bring in reinforcements at the last minute if all goes to hell. Besides...I'm not really feeling it for this one- you two need to spend some time together."

"In the middle of a battlefield." Lux reminded her."Great."

"You'll be fine." She told him, smiling as she put a hand on his shoulder. It may have been Lux's imagination, but her smile seemed more radiant than usual. In fact, she even seemed to be glowing, in a sense."Just don't die on me."

"I don't plan on it." He responded, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before rushing off to change and get his weapons ready, and maybe even throw up in the 'fresher because he was _that_ nervous.

Lux wasn't the only one who had a feeling about this trip. Ahsoka felt it too, and she just couldn't place a finger on what it was. Nothing bad would happen to either of her boys, but _something_ was going to change, hopefully for the better.

His stomach churning, Lux changed into the camoflage-like battle attire and wandered back to his collection of meager belongings. Not much of it was worth anything, in fact the journal he now kept wasn't nearly as exciting as the one he had been forced to leave behind on Jinata. This one had none of the memories of his daughter or his past life. Now, everything was about his new life with the Rebellion, and all the shock that he'd experienced knowing that he had a son.

His next entry would have the details of another battle in it. With that thought, Lux could feel his stomach rebelling and finally rushed off to empty it in the 'fresher sink. There wasn't much to purge, and soon he was just spitting and trying to get the taste out of his mouth.

Did throwing up like that make him pathetic? He recalled being an active senator and frequently throwing up before any kind of speech or senatorial address.

No, it must've just made him nervous and human.

He finished freshening up just in time to hear his son calling for him, calling him by his first name instead of any proper patriarchal title, though Lux knew he couldn't correct him unless he was willing to admit the truth, and it wasn't time for that yet.

His blaster was the only thing in his hands when he left the barracks.

 **ooooooooo**

Rex and Sashu were the only familiar faces of this group. Everyone else was glaring at or ignoring him. Aidan had his eyes shut like he was somehow sleeping through all of this, but in reality, he was actually scared of flying. Sick of it, even. The boy was holding his stomach with both hands and Lux's own gut churned in sympathy.

Most of their group was human, and as such would have to wear masks upon arrival. Sullustan air was toxic, and it was unknown how long they'd spend on the obsidian surface of the planet.

Their cloaked ship was landing in no time. Out the viewport, Lux could see a single Imperial Star Destroyer stationed above the world.

"Alright, men." Aidan's voice got everyone's attention. "Our mission here is simple- don't get caught."

There were chuckles from among those familiar with Aidan's leadership style. Next to Lux, someone shoved a Mirialan man and said "Yeah, Jenzi."

"If we can rid the planet of Imperials, we can claim it ourselves. Twenty years ago, this planet was a vital part of the Republic's economy and trade. It's time to take it back."

There was a whoop, a few hollers, and more shoving and celebrating. None of these men around Lux seemed concerned about dying. None of them seemed to care that this may have well been a suicide mission. There could be an entire battalion of troopers, potentially. There was only ten of them.

"Okay, ladies!" Aidan said through his mask as the door opened. "Let's get this done. And may the force be with us."

Men started jumping out of their transport. Lux was not prepared for the six feet of open air and twisted his ankle immediately on impact. With a garbled "oof" from the mask he trekked on, determined not to be the last one to their entry point.

The Mirialan man, Jenzi, turned out to be the slicer. He shoved his small frame forward to the door, and once getting an old (but still viable) code from Lux was able to get past the security. It was a feeble attempt at a lockdown- the group faced no dispute within their first hundred yards before splitting up into small teams.

"Clean, if possible." Aidan had suggested as means of disposing of soldiers.

The alarming thing was that there were few Sullustans around as well. Perhaps no soldiers was a bad thing. Perhaps it meant all the citizens were now prisoners and being held by every single stormtrooper on this base-

"That means stop, di'kut!" Rex hissed, grabbing Lux by the collar (again, he must've been going for a record) and pulling him back.

"I don't know what any of those signs meant!" Lux exclaimed, confused. Before splitting up, Aidan had silently made signs that looked like a gun and two walking feet.

"Well, for starters, the fist in the air means _stop_!"

The fifth member of their team was glaring at the two of them, and Lux flushed, embarrassed. Rex was red out of annoyance, muttering something about "shinies."

Lux didn't mean to be difficult. He really didn't. It had been forever since he'd been under someone else's orders. And right now, he was finding it difficult to just follow orders.

"Why did we stop?" Rex asked, walking up to Aidan's side. He had told Lux that he'd taught Aidan most of what he knew. Now they worked together, like he had with Fives or the others.

"It's too quiet." Aidan said, shaking his head. "Imperials or not- something's not right."

"Bonteri, let's see if you get something off the computer."

"Nah. Not yet. Let's see what the other group's got."

Aidan spoke hurriedly in his commlink, getting only static in response. "Something's wrong."

Sashu was in that group.

"No, Rex, "Lux began, getting the captain's attention,"lemme see the computer. I'll figure the protocols." He took the datapad hooked up to the wall console.

"The good news is that the locals are relocated and the only imperials here are the ones from the Destroyer. No more are coming. Because, the bad news is... this station's wing is scheduled to detonate in just a few hours!"

Aidan's eyes widened. "We need to regroup."

"But we can't reach the others!"

Their leader looked around, narrowed his eyes."Then we'll go and get them ourselves."

Now it was Rex who protested. "Aidan, no. We can't risk a whole group for that."

Confronted with this dillema, Aidan paced back and forth. "We came here to rid it of Imperials. That's what we're gonna do. If our friends got caught, then they'll do their job. We need to do ours. They'll be at the rendezvous point."

"How do we know they haven't been killed, seeing as nobody's answering their comms?" Jenzi asked, the only one brave enough to voice their concerns.

"No casualties." Under his breath, Aidan repeated what Leia had said as he turned the group around. "Never any casualties. We're making our way back... They'll come, too."

 **oooooooooo**

They travelled far.

Far enough that when the station finally went up in flames, they were far enough as to only see the smoke.

It was the middle of the night, and the rocky hard ground was not very comfortable, to say the least. Not to mention, there was an underlying fear that if they went to sleep, oxygen would run out and they'd never wake up.

Needless to say, Lux couldn't sleep. He knew he should at least try since his watch was in an hour, but he couldn't. It was no use. Casting a jealous look to Rex, Jenzi and the other guy, sleeping undisturbed, Lux stood up and wandered to Aidan's perch.

"You can end your watch early. I can't sleep- so I'll make myself useful."

Aidan scoffed, an odd sound through his mask."You think I'm gonna be able to sleep? Half my team is missing, and we'll all die if they don't come back soon." Frustrated, he chucked a small piece of obsidian off into the distance.

Lux sat down beside his son, doing his best to hide the "oof." "Waiting is the worst part. I remember doing too much of it back on Onderon."

"Oh yeah, Onderon. Mom told me about that back when Saw Gerrera was getting out of control..." The boy paused. "You seem to know my mom pretty well. Did you meet her on Onderon?"

"Well... No. I actually met her on Raxus, in the middle of Separatist territory."

"What was my mother doing in Separatist territory?"

"She was with a friend of my mothers'. We talked as they did and soon became friends, despite our opposing politics. She was a Jedi, I was a Separatist senator. We weren't supposed to be friends-"

He trailed off when Aidan jumped up, agitated. "Stop!" He yelled, suddenly, holding his head in his hands as if he were trying to cover his ears. "Stop talking!"

Lux obediently did so, confused at his son's sudden outburst.

"I've heard that before. I've heard that story when I asked my mother about how... about how she met my father. It can't possibly be the same story!"

 _Oh no._ Lux thought as he realized his mistake. _What have I done?!_

"It's not the same... It can't be..." Aidan muttered.

"Aidan-" Lux began, but his voice was hoards and hardly a whisper, even more distorted because of the oxygen mask. "Don't be mad."

"Don't be mad?" Aidan echoed. "Don't be mad?!" He yelled. "You've _lied to me. You've hid this from me! Because you're a coward."_

 _"_ It was your mother who insisted secrecy." Lux tried to explain, but was suddenly knocked flat by the man he faced. They tumbled down a slight hill, until they stopped rolling and Aidan was on top of him.

" _Never mention my mother again, you hear me!"_ He screamed in Lux's face _,_ just inches away, and Lux could see the angry tears forming in Aidan's electric blue eyes.

 _"_ I'm sorry." He whimpered.

"I don't want your apology. I want you _dead."_ Aidan growled.

He probably would've finished Lux then and there if Rex hadn't slid down the hill to break them up.

"I want you to leave us alone!" Aidan continued as Rex hefted him up and drug him away. "You seem to be good at that, huh? Good at ignoring us and letting us suffer and starve on our own while you sit in the sheltered office of a _traitor_ and-"

 _Whiz!_

The whistle of a bullet sailed through the air and ended up skimming Aidan's shoulder, inches from Rex's head. The younger man screamed in pain and frustration, turning around and going from angry to battle ready in seconds. He shouted a warning, waking Jenzi and the other human in their group to the attacking group of stormtroopers.

Their small squad had the advantageous terrain- mostly high ground, and natural walls made of the same indestructible obsidian as most of the planet. There were no trees or things that their assailants could be hiding in, either.

"Are you okay?" Lux tried to ask Aidan when Rex and them were hiding against one such structure. Aidan flat out ignored him- not giving any indication that he had even heard. But he could still move that arm, which was a good sign, and there was no risk of exsanguination. Lux got a sinking feeling that Aidan had been injured worse than this before.

"Their aim hasn't improved, yet." Rex commented as he entered another round. "I count about 50. If we can try one more time to contact the others, we can surround them."

"Too bad our demo expert is with them." Aidan replied."Hey, you got any detonators left?" He shouted down to Jenzi and Erwhi.

When a break in the volley occurred, Erwhi snuck over and slid beside his commanding officer, quickly passing him some detonators. Aidan tossed one in his palm, caught it, and moved away from the group. Five bombs. He had five bombs to take out all the troopers that remained.

Back with Rex and Jenzi, Lux attempted to go after him, but Rex pulled him back down. "Let him do his thing."

You could just see Aidan's blonde head of hair peaking out from across the dark landscape. Similarly, stormtrooper armor was easily visible in the dark as well.

"He could very well be a demolitions expert of his own." Rex continued and went back to shooting. Lux, however, watched Aidan calculate a bit, then heft a bomb right into the center of an advancing group of troopers, taking a handful out with one shot.

Another bomb- another group fell.

Now the number of enemies was about half. With Aidan's arm too injured to do much more, Rex led the other three of them on a precarious advance, still keeping on the covered high ground. Lux could hear Aidan attempting to make contact with Sashu's group.

In the end, the four of them were separated into a pair and two lone soldiers, pinned against the last of the stormtroopers. It seemed that their enemy had found detonators of their own, but still couldn't aim. Even Rex was afraid to stick his head out. He motioned for a retreat on the count of three. He had only started counting when an explosion went off just a meter in front of Jenzi's cover. The poor man was spooked into a false start and before Erwhi could stop him, ended up being peppered by the enemy's vanguard, falling instantly.

Time seemed to stop.

Aidan's eyes went wide and he screamed and ran for his fallen comrade -even younger than he was- just as Rex picked off the final trooper.

The three remaining rebels gathered around Aidan and Jenzi, whos still body was still smoking from the shots that had hit him.

If Lux was completely honest, he doubted returning to base without Jenzi would do much except ruin Aidan's reputation. Nobody would be mad at him, just disappointed. They wouldn't strip him of his status or forbid him from future missions or any of that. But, all the same...

 _No casualties._

This was the first man Aidan had ever lost on a mission. Jenzi had hardly qualifies as a man- he was actually more of a teenage slicing prodigy that found his way in the special forces. From the looks of things, Jenzi didn't even appear to be of drinking age, and this particular endeavor had only been his second one with the special forcs.

"Kid, we need to get moving in case more of them come." The ultimate veteran, Rex, spoke up. He knew the pain of losing comrades and having no time to spare to stop and mourn them. "C'mon, kid."

Lux and Erwhi were briskly shoved along into the direction their enemy had come from. Stormtrooper bodies laid all throughout the desolate plains.

"I thought there weren't anymore." Muttered Lux's companion.

"I'm pretty sure he's just trying to motivate us. We wouldn't be able to take Jenzi back with us even if we had no deadline." For a second, Lux couldn't believe such words had come from his mouth. Erwhi just nodded and asked no more of him.

Once they were a fair distance away, he finally turned back and saw Aidan and Rex trudging along together, the latter relaying the plan through comlink. Apparently, Sashu's group had actually been able to find most of the Sullustans and free them, allowing them to return to their lives as normal as possible. Those stormtroopers that had attacked Lux's team on the hill had been the same ones chased off from the city. As they were making their way back to their transport, a space battle (Lux surmised Ahsoka had something to do with it) was taking place above the planet, hopefully to take care of the star destroyer.

It was a long, silent trip back.

 **ooooooo**

 **Author's note:**

 **Hey guys, I've noticed the lack of reviews and just wanted to make sure you guys were still interested. Please let me know what you think, I am getting a sinking feeling that you don't like it anymore. Sadly, reviews motivate me because they really are the only positive things people ever say to me in real life or on the interwebs.**

 **May the force be with you,**

 **Dinui**


	24. Chapter 24

The change in family dynamics occurred the moment Lux and Aidan were back onto the metal floors of the Rebel flagship, where Ahsoka waited.

They avoided each other. Initially, they had both tried to approach her, but Aidan glared and maybe even snarled a bit and Lux turned the other way. Then, Ahsoka began to sense his anger, his confusion. Aidan was lost.

And he just marched right past her,glowering. Didn't stop to say hello or anything. Lux waited a good three minutes after he dissapeared to approached her.

"Okay, what happened? You were only gone for two days." She asked, hands across her chest in a posture of annoyance.

"Do you want the bad news..."Lux began, unfastening the straps of his helmet."Or the _really_ bad news?"

She cringed. "That bad, huh?"

"Well, you can count, can't you!" He snapped, gesturing in the direction that the reduced number of those returning. A bit shocked, Ahsoka took a step back and narrowed her eyebrows in alarm.

Realizing what he'd done, Lux immediately softened up and apologized."I'm sorry, 'Soka. I didn't mean to yell. It's just... it was _bad,_ okay? Everything went wrong. Unless that air strike succeeded, we won't have won the planet."

"We've had no confirmation yet, but I believe we're moving the fleet to a nearby planet while we wait for things to settle." Ahsoka took Lux's hand into hers. "Hey, it's not your fault that your mission had complications."

"I know, I know... But I was so close to him, I felt like I should have done something to help my son. Seeing him have to step up like that, be a man- I know he's old enough and smart enough, but it's still a feeling I don't like. I doubt you understand."

"Oh, I do. It's part of the reason I can't go along with him. It hurts me too, Lux, more than you know." Ahsoka agreed, and for a second, she leaned against him into a hug, as if they really were just two parents reminiscing about their grown son."So what was the " _really_ bad news?" She inquired softly.

"I told him." Lux admitted, the words muffled in her lekku until she reeled away in shock. "You _what?!"_

"Unintentionally!" Lux quickly corrected, and went on to explain the whole debacle while she listened. "I'm really sorry, I should have made sure I wouldn't have spoiled it like that."

"No, no, it's fine." Ahsoka decided."Well, not really fine, but... Do you think he knows anything else?"

"Like what?"

"Well... That we're back together, I guess? I'm pretty sure that idea wouldn't come easy to him."

"I think he'll figure it out pretty quick." Lux sighed."But he won't be able to do much, now would he?"

Ahsoka smiled sheepishly, but the twinkle in her eyes gave away the fact that she could care less.

The stood there a few moments more, still close and sharing each other's presence, out of the way of all the traffic and other such occurring around them. If anyone around thought it was odd to see Commander Tano embracing a lowly foot soldier, they didn't say.

"Alright, you know what?" Lux said, still talking softly. "Since Aidan's off sulking for a while, we're gonna go back to the apartment so I can shower- force knows I need it- and then we'll talk. I can tell that you're hiding some news of your own. You're glowing."

She laughed in dismissal. "Glowing, you say?"

"Yeah. Whatever that means." He added under his breath. _Probably some weird Togruta thing._ He didn't note her hesitation to follow him or the way her smile wavered. Force, he was tired. As soon as he freshened up and talked, he'd probably collapse into bed and face life in the morning.

While Lux showered, Ahsoka went off on a sojourn for Aidan, not necessarily to engage him, but just to make sure he didn't dissapear or do something stupid out of grief. Her poor boy probably thought the world hated him, now that he had, in their eyes, failed.

She followed his trail to the gym, and found it vacant. Usually that was his first stop. Puzzled, Ahsoka recalculated her trail and continued on, past the cafeteria and finally to the bridge. Upon entering, she saw Aidan sitting across from Leia in the windowsill, talkin privately. The Skywalker boy, Luke, was not too far away, still getting used to his prosthetic hand.

 _Same as his father._

The resemblance was uncanny. Both Anakin and Luke had lost their left hands to a Sith lord who was once a Jedi.

Ahsoka was about to turn away and head back to her rooms, but Luke had picked up on her presence and was now walking toward her. _Uh oh._ This was not what she was prepared for.

It would be cruel to try and avoid him.

"Ahsoka!" He called, and she turned around, doing her best to look pleased.

"Luke! What a surprise."

His blue eyes narrowed, and she was pretty sure he could see right through her fake sincerity.

"I- I heard about Cloud City, from my son. You fought Vader. That was very brave of you."

"Yeah, well, look where that got me." He absently waved his inorganic hand in the air. "It was foolish, not brave. I was wrong to think I could have done anything to save my friends. In then end- I may have just made things worse."

"You did what you thought was right."Ahsoka said."Nobody can fault you for that."

"Yeah, but I let Obi-Wan down. He tried to warn me, but I didn't listen."

"Trust me. Your father didn't either."

Luke's gaze went from passive to sudden anger. "My father." He repeated. "Did you know?"

"Know what?"

"Who he was?"

As much as she knew silence was not a good response, Ahsoka bit her lip and turned away. She refused to let him see her conflicting emotions.

"I see..." He said. "You, too."

"Luke. You have to understand-"

"No. It's fine. I understand. I'm not mad at you- you were probably sworn to secrecy by someone else. That's not your fault."

Wow.

Last time Ahsoka had talked with Luke, he had seemed whiny and immature. Now, he was different, accepting news about his father worse than what Aidan heard about Lux with a better attitude. That was showing something.

"I'm sorry, Luke. But if you ever need to talk, I'm here." The words were out before she could stop them, shocking even herself. She hoped it wasn't obvious.

"You're the only living teacher I have left." He shrugged. "But I understand your hesitation."

Then he turned and walked away.

 _Well, that was quite a bizarre ending._

But Ahsoka didn't question it. To be completely honest, she was too tired to feel upset or conflicted or any of the sort. Call it insensitive, but what happened to Luke really _was_ his own fault. Why don't people like him learn? She'd had to learn the hard way many times.

 _Look at me now. I sound old, like a grandmother!_ With that thought, Ahsoka returned to her living quarters to find Lux already asleep, or at least trying to be. She headed into the bathroom to freshen up herself before joining him.

"Did you go off to find him?" He murmured mostly into the pillow. Her exceptional hearing only mostly discerned it.

"Just to make sure he was okay. I wasn't gonna talk to him." Ahsoka made to slide herself into Lux's arms, forcing him to slightly change position to accommodate her. "What took you so long, then? Were you scared to talk to me?"

"Not scared." She assured him, going along with his story as to not have to relive her conversation with Luke."Just... Anxious."

"That's just another form of fear." He protested, lightly. One of his arms was draped lazily over her back. "And what's up with you suddenly dressing differently? You've not been wearing your usual armour."

"It's tight."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is it, now? Has the increase in our mealtimes finally slowed down that metabolism of yours?"

She didn't have enough energy to tease back. "No, Lux. But you're not far off." At his inquisitive expression, she put a hand to his freshly shaved chin and savored the warmth and life. "I need to tell you this now, whether you're ready or not."

"Tell me what?" He asked, sleepily, leaning into her touch and his pillow.

"Lux, seriously. Look at me! It's important." Ahsoka waited for him to fully sit up on his arm before she continued. "I think I may be pregnant."

Now, he was awake. Lux sat up straight in a hurry, looked down at her beside him in utter disbelief. "No. No, you can't be!"

"We've not exactly been _careful..._ " She tried to say but Lux cut her off, stammering incoherently in a language she couldn't make out.

"And what do you mean, " _may be_ "?!"

"I mean that I have been too scared to find out for sure, using the force or a test or otherwise. I needed to tell you first, in case you went crazy."

" _This"_ Lux gestured to himself."Is not crazy?"

"Well, I expected more than what I'm seeing." Ahsoka admitted. She herself had not even lifted her head off of her pillow.

"So you mean that you _are_ pregnant, then."He clarified."But needed to gauge my reaction before getting real, undeniable proof."

Guilty as charged, she nodded.

"Well, force, Ahsoka. We didn't plan this either, did we? We've only been seeing each other for about-"

"Eight months, Lux. That's more than enough time."

"Yes, thank you for the biology lesson." He said, with heavy sarcasm. "How far along would you be, then?"

"Oh, two months? I doubt it was any earlier than that, I'd be showing by now."

Her lover flopped back down, landing with a slight bounce beside her. "I just don't believe it." Lux covered his eyes with his arm, wanting to hide from responsibility for at least once in his life. "Why does this happen to us _again?_ "

"What do you mean, again?"

"We weren't trying for Aidan, either." He reminded her.

"Well, are you mad, then? 'Cause you were kind of mad about Aidan."

"No! Not mad. In your words, I'm just anxious. I mean, it's the middle of a war, Soka! How are we supposed to take care of a baby, who depends on us for its absolute survival,with the Empire breathing down our necks?! This isn't good, Ahsoka. We need to consider how fair it would be for us to bring a baby into this mes-"

"Stop!" Ahsoka said with authority, not even wanting to entertain the cowardly thought of terminating her pregnancy. "Don't even go there."

"Okay. Fine." Lux stopped ranting, and for the first time in five minutes took some long, deep breaths before he looked at her.

"Do I look worried?" She asked.

"Well,no."

"Then should you be?"

"Well...I don't know, 'Soka! How's everyone going to think once you start showing? Force, how are we supposed to tell Aidan?! It'll be months before he even _looks_ at me again!"

"You underestimate him." Ahsoka chided."Yes, he's angry, but he'll not stay that way for much longer. Give it a week and he'll be your best friend. He's just reacted like he's coached himself to, when that is not his true nature. You'll see."

"Okay."Lux agreed. Finally, with all the panic out of the way, his surpressed feelings of happiness erupted and soon he was back to his normal self, wanting to make sure that she was okay. Which, of course, she was, minus the slight morning sickness she had been experiencing.

"I was literally just telling Rex the other day how we wanted to get married before even thinking about more kids."

She scrunched up her face in confusion. "We did?"

"Okay, okay. _I_ did." He admitted, noting the exaggerated eye roll she gave in response. "But I mean it. I _do_ want to marry you even more now. With no end to this war in sight and a baby on the way, we should get that taken care of."

"Lux."

"Yeah?"

"Let's face it. We're pratically married already. Let's just sign the papers and make it official. We can have a ceremony later, when the galaxy is at peace again, be it one year or ten."

"Okay." He replied."We can do that. But promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"You won't put yourself in danger for the next seven months."

"It may be less than that, if history repeats itself,"she pointed out, tracing the faint outline of a baby bump under her shirt. It was much too early to feel a kick or movement, but she could sense the baby's heartbeat and very existence, their own signature and DNA weaving together since the moment they were conceived.

She must've gone quiet and still, because Lux had to touch her to bring her back to reality. "Can you feel them?"

"In a way, yes."

"You already know what gender they are, don't you?" He asked, placing a hand over hers, feeling his second child for the first time.

"No. I could, though, if I really wanted to. I could tell you what color eyes they'll have, how tall they'll be, if they'll have hair, what color skin they'll have..." She stopped her list and turned to look at him, eyes dancing."But where's the fun in that?"

Her fiancé,if you could call him that, given what they had discussed earlier, frowned a bit. "You mean up until the moment they're born, don't you?"

"Of course. I got my boy, I'll be happy no matter what this one is."

"I thought you said you had wanted a girl." He asked, eyebrow raised. "That's what you told me about Aidan."

"Well, I did, yes."She admitted. "But not for the right reasons. Older brothers are _so much better_ than older sisters."

"I can neither confirm nor deny that statement." Lux said, playfully. "By the way, you'll probably have to remind me of this in the morning."

"Hmm? Why."

"Cause I'll probably think I'm dreaming."

She snuggled closer to him, wrapped her arms around him and burrowed her head into his chest. "You most certainly are not." She whispered,closing her eyes and letting the rise and fall of his chest lull her to sleep.


	25. Chapter 25

Aidan was perfectly mimicking the undead at breakfast the next morning, so out of it that he didn't even seem to notice Lux come out of his mother's room.

"Didn't sleep?" Ahsoka assumed.

"Busy hiding." He replied, staring ahead. "Got bacta for my shoulder,too."

"You don't need to hide, Aidan." Ahsoka said, doing best to speak soothingly while using the force to calm him. Aidan visible relaxed. "Nobody's mad at you. Listen- I've got a meeting. If I leave you here with your father, promise me you won't kill him."

"I promise." Aidan droned absently.

To Lux's surprise, Aidan didn't seem mad anymore. Maybe Ahsoka had been right about him not truly being mad. Or maybe,he was too tired to care.

And he _had_ promised...

Lux risked it and pulled out the seat across from his son. Aidan looked up, but his expression was not that of anger, but that of a broken man.

"How can you tell her you're proud of me?"

"Hmm?" Lux was caught off guard.

"You tell mom that you're proud of me. But someone _died_ because of me! I'm a failure...Nobody should be proud of me if I've let people down, even my own parents."

"Aidan, you could be mentally disabled, paralyzed from the neck down, and lie in bed all day and I'd _still_ be proud of you. _"_

 _"_ I tried to _kill_ you."

 _"_ You would have been understood. I _should_ be dead, to be completely honest. But I believe I was destined to meet you, someday, whether you like it or not. You're more of a man than I'll ever be. It's not works that make me proud, son. It's character."

"If I had been in your shoes, I wouldn't have lasted most situations you have had in your relatively short life." Lux continued. "Do you know how many people envy you? They don't despise you. They want to _be_ you!"

"But someone is dead-"

"War is war. People die." Lux's eyes became focused elsewhere and he trailed off. "People we love, sometimes. And that's why we keep going. To keep their memory strong. Why do you think the Rebellion is a thing? Because we have the memory of a better Galaxy and we don't want it forgotten!"

Aidan just listened. Lux had no idea if he was penetrating the walls he had built around himself, but reiterated the point. "From the moment I first saw you, I was proud of you. Even if you wanted to kill me."

A minute passed. Two.

"You and mom are back together then, I assume?"

The change in topic was expected. All this sentimental talk was making Aidan nervous.

"You know, she never stopped loving you. I don't know about you, but she would cry over you. She would talk about you and it would make her happy in a unique way I could never achieve. So, as weird as it is, I'm glad. I don't want to kill you. That was just...instinct. Mom says I can be 'territorial' sometimes."

"I imagine." Lux joked."You've been her sole protector all of these years."

 **"** Going back a long, _long_ time ago, you remember that day where we met on Alderaan."

"Now that I know that you were that little boy, I try to recall everything we talked about-"

"Your daughter." He prompted.

"Yes?"

"My half sister?" Aidan asked it like a statement that he was hoping to be incorrect about.

"No!" Lux exclaimed,"She was my stepdaughter. The two of you aren't related at all."

Aidan breathed what may have been a sigh of relief. "When I relayed that to mom, she cried. Guess she thought you had just moved on."

"I moved on in life, not in love." Lux said,folding and unfolding his legs nervously, not wanting to have to explain his past again. "Some relationships have not an ounce of love in them. Please just leave it at that- I really don't want to talk about my past mistakes."

"I don't think it was a mistake." Aidan shrugged."You may not have made it back here if things had been different."

"My life's too hectic for relationships." The younger man continued."I've given up. Everyone I love is either taken or dead."

 _What a harsh reality,_ Lux thought.

"Do you and mom want to get married?"

"We've talked about it, yes. Obviously, the real advantages of it wouldn't come into play until this war is over and wherever we settle is taken back from Imperial control. Your mother and I are both sentimental people, ironically- we'll probably exchange rings now, do a ceremony,if any, later."

Aidan blinked a few times and stretched."Is my last name going to change?"

"Only if you want it to."

"Yes, please." Aidan responded immediately, shocking Lux with his eagerness. "Aidan Bonteri has a much better ring to it. Besides, once I get promoted,it'll be difficult to determine the difference between me and mom if we're both "Tano.""

"We should talk to your mother before we do anything, obviously."

"Well, you guys aren't married _yet_." Aidan clarified pointedly. "Also, have you noticed that mom's been acting different lately?"

 _Oh no. What do I say?_ Lux's mind scrambled helplessly as Aidan began his list.

"This morning, she poured an entire cup of caf down the drain because it "didn't taste normal"- and it was the same kind she always drank. She's not been wearing her armour. And she's been tired a lot."

"Your mother's just stressed, that's all." Lux said, hiding his expression begin his own cup of caf. "She'll be fine in a few weeks." He lied.

"Yeah, whatever." Aidan glanced over his shoulder as if he thought she may come back through the door. "I should go. There's a small ceremony for Jenzi. Nothing much."

Lux watched him leave, a roller coaster of emotions enveloping his heart. He and Ahsoka hadn't even discussed how to let Aidan know he was going to be a big brother. At least he wasn't hostile towards the idea of Ahsoka and him getting married.

Lux sipped the last of his caf, laid the cup in the sink and stood alone in the apartment. For the first time in the latter half of his life, he felt like he was doing something right. He was now part of Aidan's life after far too long. He was soon to marry Ahsoka (at least legally,) who was expecting Aidan's little brother or sister. Finally, Lux got to show his true nature as a caring husband and father.

Ahsoka returned that afternoon and immediately retreated to the bedroom, not even stopping to say hello. When Lux followed, she had dissapeared into the 'fresher and soon emerged, wiping her mouth with a disgusted look on her face. "Managed to hold it." She explained offhandedly, waving off being sick as normal. "You know, despite this, I still enjoy being pregnant. Throwing up a few times is totally worth it!"

"Those are words I doubt a lot of women ever say." He chuckled as she dissapeared again to brush her teeth to get the sour taste out.

"Hey,"he realized after her second emergence. "That's my shirt!"

She glanced down, innocently. "Oh, this?"

"They can't see you wearing my shirt!"

She shrugged. "It's this, or risk bursting the seams on my normal wear. I may be a bit farther along than I thought." Ahsoka reached to her abdomen and outlined her bump, which was, as she had said, a little large for only two months along. Of course, she was the only one who knew that.

"Okay,fine. Keep it if you're comfortable. But that's my only change of clothes!"

"I smell like your cologne." She said in response.

Lux scoffed and gathered her into his arms- as much as it went against any form of reason, he was completely over the moon at the prospect of being a father again and could only think to express it through random displays of affection.

"Could you come with me today?"

"Where?"

"I was going to have a scan done. You know- just to check up on everything, determine how far along I really am."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" He agreed, excitedly. "But, 'Soka- aren't you afraid of rumours or people judging or..."

"Do I look like I care?" Ahsoka was already walking out the door, still wearing his shirt.

Lux knew her attitude was part of the reason he loved her. He himself had always lived a life where everything he did or said mattered, and a minor screw up could ruin everything. He smiled to himself and followed her.

The hallways at this time of day had little traffic, mostly because commanding officers were usually running meetings or too engaged in their own matters. They got to the medbay with minimum attention.

Ahsoka was gripping his hand- whether from excitement or something else, Lux didn't know. He squeezed back before they entered the medbay.

Having never done this before, Lux was nervous beyond belief, even for something as harmless as a prenatal scan. Nervous up until the screen came to life and he and Ahsoka saw their baby for the first time.

The apathetic droid medic estimated by the baby's length that she was about ten weeks along. An extra half month than anticipated, but given Ahsoka's irregular cycles and their rather sporadic schedule of intercourse that was simply an honest mistake.

The heartbeat-amazing as it was- would stay on Lux's mind for hours afterward. How could someone that small be so full of life?

Growth was good, the medic explained. All the baby's organs were beginning to work. Ahsoka may be feeling kicks as soon as next month.

"How soon can we know the gender?" Lux asked the droid.

It began to respond but Ahsoka interrupted. "Oh, I already know." She was pulling back down her shirt.

"Right. And it's up to me to convince you to tell me."

"How to tell Aidan?" He asked, offering her his hand as they began to walk away, still smiling.

"He may get suspicious if you keep smiling like that." She countered, but was smiling as well. It all seemed surreal. Ahsoka kept one hand off and on her bump and her other entwined with Lux's back down the hall.

"Aidan'll probably be home, now." She paused once they were in front of the door. "Promise me you won't say anything. I still don't know how or if we should tell him."

"Ahsoka." Lux stopped her from opening the door by gently grabbing her wrist. "I can't keep another secret like this. Aidan's not a little kid that we can wait and reveal it in some entertaining way."

Ahsoka's hand lifted away from the door as she turned to face her fiancé. "Just give me one more week, please."

"I don't understand why we can't just be honest-"

"Because so many things can go wrong!" Ahsoka exclaimed, turning on him with an angry expression. "The droid back there didn't mention it, but I remember from back when I was pregnant with Aidan. Mixed species pregnancies come with more risks than any and there is a high chance of miscarriage for much longer than a normal baby. Do you get what I'm trying to say?"

Lux nodded wordlessly. He understood completely, now, and realized why Ahsoka had been so nervous ever since she's decided to tell him. She'd done a good job playing it off, but knowing about the risk now...

"I don't want to disappoint him. Or to make myself a liability to him. You've never seen how overprotective he can get, and he's wanted a younger sibling virtually his whole life, whether he admits it or no."

"Okay." Lux agreed."We can tell him together. When you're ready."

Ahsoka entered the apartment first, immediately picking up on Aidan's trail back to his room. Motioning for Lux to do whatever he did in his spare time, she walked into Aidan's room to find him lying fully clothed on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

"How was this morning?" She asked softly.

"Don't remind me, mom, please..." He turned away from her and put his back toward her.

"I meant with your father."

Aidan turned back, interested. "It was... Nice. We chatted a bit. I know he's not any sort of military man but he certainly could relate to me on some levels."

"Good." Ahsoka reached out to rub his good shoulder. "Thank you for trying to get along with him."

"He's a good guy." Aidan struggled over the words, as if he could never see himself saying them. "But I still don't understand how you two ended up together."

"One day you'll find someone and understand just fine." She smiled and turned to leave, having evaluated his current state as normal and not in danger of exploding like last time.

"Are you wearing dad's shirt?" He finally realized, giving her an odd look.

"What, I'm not allowed to be comfortable?"

"It's just a sudden development, that's all." Aidan's voice got softer with that last bit and Ahsoka could tell he was about to travel off somewhere with his thoughts. Leaving him to that, she left his room. Lux still hadn't come inside the apartment. She checked back outside the door and didn't see him there, either.

"Hey, Rex?" She asked through her comm."Is Lux with you?"

On Rex's side of the comm, she could hear some rowdy sounding background noise that she suspected was the mess hall. "Yeah. He's with me."

"Just checking." Ahsoka responded, absently and hung up.

 _I must've scared him off with my talk of risks._

But she couldn't lie to herself. She was scared, too, and would be until the moment this baby was safely in her arms.

Stressing this much couldn't be healthy, so Ahsoka decided to talk to someone who understood her worries, assuming she was available at the moment.

Ahsoka was off to see if the Ghost was in town.

 **oooooooo**

The question stumped the old clone captain, and for a moment he was silent in deliberation.

"I just don't think it would've been my thing, ya know?" Rex responded, taking another swig of heavily watered-down ale. "I've always seen myself more as an uncle. Besides... The best thing about looking after other people's kids is you can give them back in the end."

Lux looked at his own drink apprehensively. "That seems so simple."

"Well, it is. I played father for Aidan until you showed up, but even then, I knew I wasn't filling that void the same way you have."

"Now, hold on, I haven't done anything yet."

Rex shot him a look with a raised brow. "You underestimate yourself."

"There was one other time I had experience with kids." Rex went on, leaning back in his chair a bit as if recalling fond memories. "A brother of mine had deserted, gotten married and had a few kids, a boy and a girl. I still think of them, and hope nothing bad happened to them after the Empire formed."

"A boy and a girl." Lux repeated, dreamily. "One of each sounds nice. I've only raised a girl."

"Well, whatever your past, Bonteri, Aidan's your focus now."

"Yeah." Lux responded absently. _My focus._ Raced his mind. _My_ focus _should be on my family. That means not running off like this anytime I'm scared._

"Well, I should be off."Lux announced, sliding his half empty glass across the table for Rex to finish if he so wished. "I've been away too long, 'Soka'll have my hide."

"Good luck." Rex offered to his companion's retreating form, chuckling to himself, before downing the last couple of drinks and staggering off as well.


	26. Chapter 26

Ahsoka and Hera had remained in close contact, especially after Hera had made the difficult decision to leave Jacen to be raised on Ryloth while Hera taught at the Alliance's flight school. It had ended up being a good call, as Hera's entire chapter ended up kidnapped by the notorious Doctor Aphra. The crisis was resolved and Hera resumed teaching.

Up until recently, anyway. Like many of the Generals, Hera had been called back from her duties to attend tomorrow's briefing using crucial recon General Mothma had aquired.

"If what the General said is right, and this battle _is_ the end of the Empire, you can bet I'll be setting course for Ryloth the moment I'm cleared. He's almost five, Ahsoka. He's old enough to stay with me now, right?"

Ahsoka had absolutely no idea why Hera defaulted this question to her. "I don't know." She answered. "I mean, Aidan was five when I started leaving him to work as Fulcrum... so we seem to have switched ways."

"If the Empire's gone, what danger will there be, anyway?" Hera asked rhetorically. Ahsoka didn't have the heart to tell her that tomorrow likely wouldn't be the end, likely just a snowball effect for another few years until the Empire was eradicated forever.

"I think you'll do what you think is best. I, personally, would never have left my son alone after five years old if I had known the consequences. "

"There was just no way I could have taught _and_ taken care of him at the same time." Hera shook her head. "But, now, I think it's high time I decide if I value being a mother or a pilot first and foremost."

"And you're not the only one who's going to have to decide." Ahsoka assured her friend, stretching her arms across the Ghost's holochess table, which they occupied. "I'm very close to reducing my time here to part-time or even retiring altogether."

" _Why?!"_ Hera exclaimed.

"I told you last time we visited how Aidan's father has come back. The three of us are just getting used to each other, and I just want time to spend time with my family."

"Oh, yes, the infamous Lux Bonteri." Hera smiled. "Here I was thinking that an ex-Jedi and a Rebellion pilot made an odd couple. You had to outdo me with a Senator."

"I've outdone you in other ways, too. I'm surprised you haven't called me on it yet."

Hera got a michevous look on her face as she tried to decipher what Ahsoka was telling her. The older Togruta woman had a snarky grin on her face as she leaned back with her arms crossed.Thinking back to what she had said earlier, the Twi'lek pilot realized the fault in Ahsoka's reason for retiring. Ahsoka had never referred to Lux, herself,and Aidan as a family before. In fact, she had admitted that she'd never feel part of a family unless...

"No way!" She breathed, then nearly jumped out of her own seat with excitement. "Are you serious?"

Ahsoka nodded and her face began to light up as well, delighted at how happy her friend was for her considering how scared Hera had been at the thought of her own pregnancy.

"Baby number two?!" Hera asked,as if needing confirmation by as many answers as possible.

"I'll be in the clear in a few months, so I'll be nervous until then." Ahsoka went on, " but, yes, this will be Aidan's little brother or sister and Jacen's new playmate."

Hera bounced up and down in excitement."What did Lux think?!"

"Oh, you should've seen his face!" Ahsoka laughed out loud as the scene of Lux's paranoia replayed in her mind. "Poor man was _definitely_ not expecting to get "lucky" again."

"And Aidan?" Hera leaned forward eagerly.

"He...doesn't know yet." Ahsoka's whole body seemed to sigh as her shoulders sagged with worry.

"Oh." Hera realized. "Are you not telling him because you don't know how he'll take it?"

"I'm not telling him because I'm afraid something will go wrong and I'll lose the baby." Ahsoka repeated what she'd told Lux the other day, reminding Hera of the specific risks the two of them had heard all throughout Hera's pregnancy with Jacen. "And that's why only you and Lux know. Because I know you two will support me. I can't risk dissapointing Aidan."

"But he's bound to notice,soon." Hera pointed out, recreating her big baby bump with her two hands out in front of her.

"The threat of miscarriage will pass soon enough. I'm hoping he'll be busy with something else and I can just sleep it off-Speaking of which, I don't remember being _this_ tired! Admiral Ackbar was _this close_ to kicking me out of a meeting yesterday because of how many times I'd yawned."

"And it only gets worse from here." Hera said sympathetically. "Oh, that reminds me- I kept all my old maternity wear for whatever reason, along with Jacen's baby clothes and such. If you need it-"

"Oh, Hera, I couldn't."

"Ahsoka..."

"No, I mean, I actually couldn't. I wear like, two sizes bigger than you even _without_ the baby bump. And what if mine's a girl? Certain people would have a fuss if I put my baby girl in blue. _I_ wouldn't care, of course, but I have a feeling Lux would."

"Fair enough." The Twi-lek shrugged. "But if it _is_ a boy..."

"I'll be sure to let you know." Ahsoka rolled her eyes as Hera let out a quiet celebration.

"Wow. This all couldn't come at a better time, no?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your baby could be the first one born into a galaxy sans the Empire!"

Of course Ahsoka had thought of that. She had already imagined the home that she, Lux, Aidan, and their baby would be living in on Onderon while Lux took over his old job from whatever croony the Empire had put in his place.

"Pretty close to it, yeah."

"And I also assume that this all means you won't be flying tomorrow..." Hera thought a moment."Actually, scratch that, you _absolutely_ will not be flying tomorrow."

"Says the woman who I had to drag kicking and screaming off of the _Ghost_ as she went into labour."

"Touché."

"No. I won't be flying tomorrow. I'll be keeping track of Lux, Aidan and Rex and guiding the assault groups from aboard _Home One."_

"Wait, assault groups? How big is this operation going to be?"

"Everything we've got." Ahsoka said with finality. "No less for the end of the next Death Star. We're going to do this, Hera." Ahsoka leaned forward, grasped her friend's hands in a sisterly manner. "Our kids are going to grow up safe."

"That's all I ever wanted, really." Hera squeezed Ahsoka's hands gently, then let her go. "Now, go home and rest. I may not have Jedi powers, but I can tell you need it."

"Well, first of all, the two of us need a meal. I'll see you tomorrow, Hera."

"Promise me you'll introduce me to Lux?"

"I promise." Ahsoka smiled, and then exited the ramp after a final wave. She squinted at the light of the docking bay and glared at the ceiling with distaste. Off in a corner, her vacant x-wing was sitting lonely, its nose seeming to sag like it had lost hope of ever being used again.

 _Sorry, old friend._ Ahsoka shrugged apologetically. _I'm still working on convincing Aidan to take to the skies._

Skeptically, Ahsoka looked down and when she was sure nobody was looking, touched her belly. _Maybe you'll be my little pilot as well as my little girl._

The baby inside her didn't seem to mind that idea, but a bout of intense hunger cramps made her realize just how misplaced her priorities were.

"Let's go find your dad, little one. Then we'll eat."

 **ooooooooo**

After eating a typical Rebel meal, Lux wandered off to possibly find Aidan while Ahsoka took a nap- a rare occurance for her, but, she was pregnant after all. As far as Lux could figure, pregnant women did weird things.

Given that the entire Rebellion was housed just on ships, it still wasn't that crowded as one might expect. Aidan could be found in one of three places: the mess hall, the gym, or Leia's quarters. (Ahsoka had been quick to assure Lux that there was nothing going on between the princess and their son. The former was rather smitten with a smuggler named Han Solo.

This day, however, Lux found Aidan in the gym with Rex and Sashu. The old clone captain seemed just to be observing and occasionally making remarks here and there about style and whatnot. Aidan and Sashu were circling each other, looking extremely cat-like.

Aidan was just happy to finally have a sparring partner taller than he was.

The most concerning point for Lux was that they weren't using any kind of shields or pads to spar like other martial arts he had heard of. No, Aidan was a practitioner of the traditional Jedi combat arts.

Lux snuck up beside Rex to watch. No sooner had his behind made contact with the bench that Rex was telling him that he had no excuse not to be practicing too.

"Come on. Up."

From over Sashu's shoulder, Aidan smirked at his father and said something to Sashu about Lux getting beat up by an old man.

Lux hadn't practiced this kind of thing since back on Onderon when Rex and Ahsoka had come to help organize the rebels. Rex knew this, but still put a lot of force into the punch he threw.

Lux just kinda slapped it away, not fully blocking it.

He threw a very side-armed punch with his left, which given his form gave Rex more than enough time to counter and get Lux square in the gut.

It was a pathetic sight. Aidan stopped fighting Sashu to look at his father in dismay as if he was about to disown him right then and there as he lay flat out on the floor. Rex began to cackle.

"Molly-dooker!" He exclaimed, and bent to help Lux up.

"Excuse me?!" Lux asked, feeling as if he should be offended.

"Lefty."

Lux dusted himself, lifted his fists, and waited for Rex to punch him again.

"Alright, this time, I want you to forcibly block with your wrist, not just by slapping."

Aidan smirked and turned away. This was the basic stuff that he had learned when he was a little kid.

Rex punched again and Lux obeyed, using the hard part of his wrist. Immediately, pain flared up in Lux's arm and he curled it up against his chest.

"Oww!" He howled. "That hurt! Why'd you tell me to do that?!"

"Because it hurt me, too. That means you're doing it _right_. Something we clones like to say about pain- it's just weakness leaving the body."

Inwardly, Lux doubted the validity of that statement. He'd like to say it was true, that all the pain he'd experienced had made him stronger. In reality it made him less trusting of other people except for those whom he loved.

"Don't waste time on me, Rex. I'm no soldier."

"Knowing this could save your life." Insisted the clone captain. "Again. You just need some conditioning."

Lux did not like the sound of that.

 **oooooooooooo**

It was hours later that Lux and Aidan finally wandered back to their family's apartment. They'd taken to calling it that, even if it was still technically only Ahsoka's. Aidan wasn't "supposed" to have been using a room, Lux wasn't "supposed" to be sharing Ahsoka's bed.

Screw that.

Ahsoka was waiting for them on the couch, well rested and waiting to eat dinner. Despite all that could happen if their familial status was revealed, all three of them had decided not to care- people could find out by observing, not by any big announcement.

The food on base was probably not the most nutritional for Ahsoka's developing baby, but she had gotten some extra supplements of necessary elements as any expectant mother would. It wouldn't be long before she wouldn't be able to stomach the food the Rebellion provided anymore.

But, to be fair, if Endor succeeded, then the Galaxy may be safe enough as to let her travel freely and get some real food and satisfy her interesting cravings. Lux, bless his heart, was probably becoming tired of being woken up only to have Ahsoka ask for some absolutely disgusting food combination that would expire her tastes in seconds.

Halfway through the meal, Ahsoka decided to take a moment to warn her family of what was happening next, even if it was a bit premature. "Have they told you anything about tomorrow?"

Lux shook his head. "What's tomorrow?"

"We're making an assault on Endor."

"An assault?!" Aidan exclaimed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that we're giving it everything we have. I wasn't supposed to tell you two yet as high command is yet to reach a total consensus on how to proceed."

"How much notice would we be receiving if you waited?" Lux wondered, a bit disappointed in the leadership of their troops. Honestly, though, the Empire wasn't much better.

"A few hours like always, I'll bet." Aidan said, pushing his plate away as he was suddenly unable to finish. "They _were_ planning on briefing us, right?"

"The officers, at least."

Lux huffed a bit and leaned his elbows on the table and balanced his chin on his folded hands. "Are we sure this will work?"

"No." Ahsoka reached out and stole a piece of meat from Aidan's plate. Her son grunted, but didn't protest, even when she did it again.

"What are we attacking, exactly?"

"The Death Star. It's not finished, so it's as good a time as any. Some of us are not sure if it's operational, though Mon Mothma and Admiral Ackbar seem certain it isn't."

"They know it's got a shield generator, right?" Lux asked, remembering talk he had heard of aboard from his days back in the Empire. Talk of a new and better weapon.

"That's what the ground troops are for." Ahsoka answered, reaching for the last morsel of Aidan's plate and eyeing Lux's next.

"Sounds like fun!" The blonde-haired man said with fake enthusiasm. "Can't wait!"

"We're expecting lots of casualties both from pilots and our ground troops." Ahsoka continued, grimly. "I'll be keeping an eye on you two from above, but I won't be actively flying."

"Why not?"

"I've been ordered to stay behind." Ahsoka locked eyes with Lux briefly. "Just in case something happens."

"I guess that makes sense." Aidan shrugged, "Will our groups be the same, or-"

"I don't think so, unfortunately." Ahsoka answered."I'm pretty sure special forces will have its own mission, Aidan, and you'll be with them. Lux, you'll likely be with Rex and Sashu for whatever else is planned. And don't worry. Again- I'll be keeping an eye on you."

"Did you tell Rex about this?" Lux wondered. The clone captain had seemed a little on edge earlier when they had gone for a drink. Or a few drinks, in his case.

"No. I hinted at it with Hera, though."

"Hera's here?" Aidan interrupted, perking up like a dog who'd hear its name. "Is Jacen with her?!"

"No, he isn't."

"Aw..."

"Who's Jacen?" Lux wondered, feeling a bit lost.

"General Syndulla's little boy. Aidan and I used to take care of him until Hera decided to send him to her family on Ryloth."

"Ah." Lux was happy with that response for many reasons. One of them being it assured him that Aidan was at least slightly knowledgeable around little kids. If he liked Jacen, he was bound to be somewhat comfortable with a baby brother or sister of his own.

"I know it will be hard tonight, but let's all try to go get some sleep. In the morning, all our questions will likely be answered about how this battle is going to go down." Ahsoka stood up first, suddenly nauseous at the smell and sight of food around her, but played it off easily with a smile. Getting the hint that something was off, Lux was quick to wrap a reassuring arm around her before they began walking back, Aidan meandering behind them as he processed the information about tomorrow.

The young man watched his parents, the way his mother leaned on his father in such a contented way, the way his father held onto her in a strong yet gentle hold.

He hoped it wasn't the last time he saw them that happy.


	27. Chapter 27

Ahsoka was the first to wake up the next morning, whether from stress or excitement or the baby, she didn't know. It could've been all three.

Speaking of the baby, Lux had his arm slung across her abdomen until she sat up and he retracted it back to his own body. Rising slowly as not to upset herself, Ahsoka went for her normal cup of caf and then walked quietly to Aidan's room, peeking her head inside.

He wasn't in his bed. Instead, he was seated on the floor, legs crossed, back straight, eyes closed. Although she was tempted to ask, Ahsoka knew exactly what he was doing, and it was something he hadn't done in a long time.

He was meditating.

Not with the Force, like she did. Just clearing his mind, like he had been taught when he was younger.

His mother eased herself down in front him, closed her own eyes and focused, calling upon peace and wisdom for herself and her family. Aidan's breathing was reduced to that of near slumber as he breathed deeply, in through his nose and out of his mouth.

After a few minutes he opened his eyes and saw her sitting across from him.

"Mom." He whispered. "I'm scared."

"Everyone is." His mother replied, looking at him with her patient blue eyes.

"Even you?"

Ahsoka's hand resisted the urge to go to her navel, to comfort the child within her. "Yes. I'm scared, too. For you and your father. For Rex. For Leia and the Rebellion."

Ahsoka's keen senses picked up the sound of a bed creaking in the other room- Lux had awoken in her absence and was now getting out of bed, preparing to start this pivotal day. The day where they either defeated the Empire or died trying.

Well, hopefully not all of us.

"I'll be keeping an eye on you. Just keep your comm on."

"They'll probably jam our signals."

"Well, then, my thoughts will be with you. Soon this whole campaign will be over, and I'll have good news for you when you return."

" _If_ I return."

"Of course you will return. In all honesty, it's your father I'm worried about."

Aidan scoffed. "Yeah, me too. Don't worry, though. Rex will take good care of him."

Even as he said that to be reassuring, Ahsoka had to think about the reality: that this campaign of Endor could likely be her captain's last battle. He knew it, she knew it, anybody who knew anything about age knew it. Sure, they had older commanders and fighters, but none of them had Rex's background, his level of PTSD. Sometimes it slipped a bit more than others.

"And there's Sashu, too." Aidan reminded her after he noted her expression. "May not be that good of a shot, but he's strong as a Wookie."

She nodded her acknowledgement. Aidan had more things to say, but whatever it was became interrupted once Lux stuck his head in the room. "Ahsoka, Aidan, you've been called to a meeting."

"What a surprise." Aidan rolled his eyes and hopped up from the floor. "Wonder what they're gonna talk about?"

Ahsoka rose as well, hoping that it didn't look to others as difficult as it felt because of her compromised equilibrium. It didn't work.

"You okay, mom?" Aidan asked when he saw her putting a hand to her temple.

"Just nervous." She claimed. "You know how it is."

If Aidan was unconvinced, he didn't press the matter anymore. He had switched modes to that of an obedient soldier who was about to get his instructions.

While Lux wasn't considered important enough to attend the briefing, he did camp outside the doors and could hear a lot of what was going on. Most of it Ahsoka had already said, things like how the pilots would be relying on the success of the ground troops. He heard Solo volunteer for the job on the moon. He was right there when Luke Skywalker strode past him to walk inside and volunteer as well.

And he was still there when everyone was dismissed. Crowds of people disembarked to their assault craft or their battle stations aboard ship. Ahsoka gave Lux a final embrace as she went to the bridge.

He waited for Aidan to emerge as well so they could say their farewells one last time. But Aidan was told to stick around. Lux thought that was odd, seeing as his son was not to be one of those who stayed aboard ship.

Then he heard the real assignment his som was given. And he became truly afraid.

"Major, we have reason to believe Inferno Squad will be present. The job of you and your men is to eliminate them before they reach our main forces."

"Eliminate them, sir?" Lux heard Aidan ask.

"They're too dangerous to be kept alive."

The General and Aidan both said more, but Lux was already frozen out of fear. Aidan, go against Inferno Squad? Go against _Iden_? He'll die!

He stayed petrified until Aidan walked by with a grim expression across his young features, knowing just as well as his father that tracking Inferno Squad was almost certain death. When their eyes met, Aidan beat him to the protests.

"I have my orders." He said simply, walking faster as to avoid any further talk with his father.

"No, Aidan!" Lux jogged after him and grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to spin around. "Listen to me. You can't take down Inferno Squad. You need more men!"

"We don't have more men." Aidan snarled. "Let go of me! We both have places to be."

Lux completely ignored his son's attitude as he continued pleading with him. "Aidan,please don't do this. Or at least take me with you. There may be a way for me to reason with her-"

"No, dad." Aidan insisted. "The choice has been made. I signed up for this Rebellion, and I'm proud to give everything for it, and if that means I walk knowingly into certain death then so be it.

"I'll tell Iden you say hello." The younger man said over his shoulder as he left his father there, stunned, absolutely certain that he would never see his son alive again.

 **oooooo**

 _I should've kept walking._ Aidan thought as he

retreated farther and farther from where his father had confronted him. He was dreading this. He was dreading having to tell his men their assignment.

He should do this alone. Nobody else needed to die.

 _But if you take them on yourself you certainly will die, and they'll go on to wreak havoc on everything you hold dear. Take your men so you have a shot._ Said his inner conscience.

At least his team had been replenished since last time, now back to 10 men so he didn't have to borrow Rex and some others.

Had he even eaten anything today?

Aidan's men would have the hardest job and the hardest time getting planetside as they were going even farther into the enemy lines.

They would be leaving in a cloaked U-wing as soon as Solo's team made it through.

Aidan always found it hard to look people in the eye. Looking people in the eye as you led them to a certain death was even harder.

"Okay, men." He announced, mustering forward all the powerful, inspiring leader-ness he had stored inside him from leading Special Forces all these years.

"For those of you who haven't heard, our objective is one that if we succeed, they'll put our names in the history books." A few murmurs sounded throughout the group. A couple guys bumped shoulders but most of them just looked at him expectantly.

"Our job is to take out Inferno Squad."

If there were murmurs before, now there was chaos. Several members, especially the newer ones began to protest, saying some of the same arguments Lux had, but Aidan wasn't finish.

"I don't expect all of you to go through with this. If any of you wish to back out, you can do so and I'll make sure nothing happens to you." _Assuming I come back alive._

Everyone looked at each other, but no-one budged. While Aidan admired this, he was still wary of the fact that he knew some of these men in front of him had wives, parents, and children to take care of and they were still willing to do this.

"With all due respect, sir." Said Erwhi, recently promoted to his second in command "We aren't gonna leave you to do this yourself."

 _Good man, Erwhi._ He had to be twice Aidan's age, but he still respected him and looked after him as a friend, not as a superior officer.

"Thank you." Aidan whispered, feeling oddly humbled and thankful.

There was plenty of room for all 10 of them on the unit's U-wing. They had two pilots wearing the jumpsuits of those who would later be returning to help the battle in space after dropping them off. Even though there was space, Aidan was touching shoulders with Erwhi, who seemed the only one who wasn't making a last minute call to a loved one or friend.

"Oh, I've seen that face before." Commented the First Lieutenant.

"What face? My face?"

"Who've you got to lose? Who're you not calling?"

"No-one. I said my goodbyes." Aidan must not've been very convincing, because Erwhi took off his helmet and pulled a crumpled piece of flimsiplast from the inside of a seam.

"My son." He explained, handing Aidan the picture. "I never got to say goodbye to him before his mother took him away from me. I found out later that she had taken him to her home on Alderaan. We all know how that went."

Aidan glanced at it. The picture of the young boy was ripped and had something spilled on it at one point or another, maybe it was just sweat.

"I never brought him up before because I always knew we wouldn't be done. But now...You think I'll redeem myself? Will today be the end?"

"I'm gonna be completely honest with you, friend. I don't know. My mom tells me one thing, my gut tells me another."

"Your mother, huh?" Erwhi sighed. "She's who you're scared of leaving?"

"No, we've long since come to terms with leaving each other. It's actually my father I worry about."

"Thought you didn't have one."

"Huh? Everyone's got a father."

"Not everyone." Erwhi shook his head. "Everyone's got someone who fathers them, but only some of those men are truly worthy of the title "father". I was never good enough for that."

"I'm sure you were. Your son was lucky to have you for the short time he did. At least you had years. I've had a few weeks, and I spent most of my time yelling at him or trying to kill him."

"He probably deserved it if you found a need to beat up on him."

"Let's just pretend you're right." Aidan glowered, but not at his companion. It sounded stupid, now- being so ungrateful and unappreciative when there are people like Erwhi who would do anything to see their child again. He'd never thought of Lux empathetically until now.

 _I really messed up._

Out of guilt or pressure, Aidan found himself recording a message for his father to see if something happened to him.

 **ooooooo**

On another part of the planet, Lux was scratching at bug bites and constantly readjusting his helmet as he walked along behind Rex, Sashu taking up the rear.

He could hear stormtrooper chatter not too far off. They were nearing the bunker, but still nowhere close to beginning an assault. In fact, it looked as if Solo, Skywalker and the Princess hadn't yet made it to the rendezvous after they had gotten help.

They were to sit here and wait.

Great, just great. It wasn't that Lux hated the outdoors, it was just that he tended to be a bug magnet when it came down to things. Rex was too tough to care, and Sashu was immune to the feeding of the little parasites. Lucky Togruta blood.

He slapped his neck, effectively squashing some microscopic blood-sucker that was feeding off of him. Then he looked forward to Rex. The older man was squinting into the distance as if trying to evaluate a target.

"We'll hide here." Instructed Lieutenant Ematt to those who followed behind him. "Until we're given a plan of action."

Everyone relaxed, sinking into the long grass for a few minutes of peace. A calm before the storm. When Lux looked up, he could see the infamous Death Star in the sky, looming over them tauntingly.

The Empire has had this coming for a long time. No more worlds will be destroyed after today... Or, we will not be around to see the destruction at the very least.

Lux also knew that just a few klicks away, his son may possibly be in the worst battle of his life.

He had sensed good in Iden. Doubt, which bred curiosity, which led to discovery and rebellion. If she had any hope of redemption, let it be shown this day.

Lux was still praying to whoever was listening when orders from General Solo came through their comms. Half the group was to go and assist him, the other to stay back. Supposedly, Solo, Skywalker and Princess Leia had made friends with the locals.

Supposedly, they weren't outnumbered anymore.

Supposedly, they were going to win.

Lux took a deep breath, gripped his blaster tighter, and waited for the order to attack.


	28. Chapter 28

While his father's team had major success on their part of the battlefield, on Aidan's side, everything was going wrong.

Their ship hadn't even had a normal landing.

Inferno squad's sniper (Del Meeko, apparently) had shot them out of the sky as soon as they were in range.

No-one died when they crashed, but one of his men had been too stunned right after and had been cut down by the same sniper. One of the poor pilots was not equipped for ground assault and went down as well.

The flora and fauna of Endor provided much needed cover for their conquest. The remaining nine men fanned out in two groups, one led by Aidan and one by Erwhi.

Their new demolitions expert, a humanoid creature named Laz was in position to lay down a screen of smoke bombs.

What they didn't account for was the superior technology of their opponent. Visors that filtered smoke. HUDs different from anything Aidan had seen through Rex's helmet.

One of the troops that had taken point disappeared, and all they could hear was his depurate screams as he was clubbed and knifed to death.

"Special forces?" Taunted a voice through a helmet. "Not so tough, huh?"

The smoke cleared, and one of them stood there, a bloodied knife in one hand and an imperial issued baton in the other. The voice was male, and the figure was tall.

It was likely Hask. Arguably the most ruthless, even if it was his commanding officer who took on most of the missions.

Everyone fired, but Hask just stood there with likely a smug look under his helmet. A personal shield surrounded him, making the barrage useless. Meanwhile, precise shots from a place in the trees above began to pick people off. Del Meeko, the sniper.

So where's the third?

Cover was impossible with fire from above. Aidan looked up to the trees and did his best to find where Agent Meeko had planted his nest.

There was no time to look through binoculars to tell if the sniper was equipped for an attack. Aidan acted fast, and sent a shot of his own... not to hit Meeko, but rather to de-stabilize the perch.

I'm not a killer. The fall may kill him, but I won't.

But the sniper didn't fall. He escaped, quickly rappelling down the side of the tree and disappearing.

The most dangerous enemies are the ones you can't see... Aidan recalled his mother's tale of the blind Jedi master (not Kanan. Definitely not Kanan) and how he had defeated seven bounty hunters just by turning out the lights and then wailing on them.

Right now, he couldn't see two of his enemies. Likely, they had already moved on. Right now, Aidan only had two men of his own left.

With a rush of pure adrenaline, Aidan screamed and ran for Hask, blasting wildly and expertly dodging the shots in return. It wasn't until he was a few feet away from the shield that Hask realized he was in trouble. Aidan jumped right through his shield and tackled him down, armor and all, proceeding to pummel all the weak spots he could reach.

Again, Inferno Squad had weapons he could only dream of. Like... hidden blades that popped out from the wrist if triggered, for example.

Hask managed to catch one of Aidan's wrists, and although the Rebel was stronger, it was mostly adrenaline anyway. At first, Aidan didn't feel the cut in his wrist, but then he saw the blood. Hask took that brief moment to shove him off and kick him as he stood up. The Imperial agent screamed obscenities as he kicked and drew a blaster.

"Kicking a man while he's down?" Aidan gasped, spitting blood. "What would your father think?"

Like an enraged Wookie, Hask threw him against a tree and drove his fist straight into his victim's sternum. Bone gave way and shattered, leaving dangerous shards that could penetrate any number of organs if Aidan so much as breathed wrong.

Only when the man slumped over and stopped moving was Hask satisfied. To his credit, Aidan did leave him with a few bruises of his own, and his elbows were slightly numb from the various pressure points that had been struck. None of the fatal ones, thankfully.

"Worked like a charm." Hask said cockily, straitening his collar and calling out to Iden and Del. "What about the others?"

"Taken care of." Said his partners, emerging from different sides of the site. Del had been a bit late to the action after being knocked out of his tree, but Iden had single-handedly snuck up and dealt with the remaining rebels.

"What do you think they were doing?"

"Recon." Del said, pushing over a body with his foot.

"No." Iden protested. "Remember, these were special forces.-" Hask scoffed at this, and Iden glared. "Show some respect- If you hadn't had your weapons, Blondie over here would have had you."

"Blondie" had woken up a few moments ago, only to hear what was being said about him and his men. He did think it was kind of odd what Iden was saying, even defending him.

"Oh, sure." Hask rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, then left Iden to join Del, sulking a bit.

Aidan could only watch, paralyzed and in pain as two-thirds of Inferno Squad rifled through his men, making sure they were dead.

Del paused when he saw Aidan's eyes watching him with more attentiveness than a dead man. Noting his mistake too late, Aidan cursed himself. "Commander!" Del gestured towards Aidan. "Blondie" is still alive!"

With the rest of his strength, Aidan reached for something. Anything. Erwhi's blaster was less than a meter away. He just needed to immobilize...

Iden Versio came stalking toward her prey, merciless features apparent as she drew a blaster and aimed right in the middle of his chest.

"Wait." Aidan gasped, and Iden's finger wavered on the trigger.

"Why should I wait to kill you, Rebel scum!"

She demanded, eyebrows narrowed inside her helmet, blaster still trained on him.

"Lux Bonteri says hello." Aidan relayed, then closed his eyes, leaning back against the tree. "Now you can kill me."

The Imperial Assasin's face changed to one of confusion. How did this man know Lux? Had he really been foolish enough to go crying to the Rebellion for help?

Taking off her helmet, Iden looked at the man with her own eyes. "How do you know Lux Bonteri?!"

"He's my father." Aidan gasped, and then screamed in pain when Iden drove a blaster into his gut. The commander leaned in close, evaluating his face.

She saw it.

Even though Lux had never mentioned a son, this man couldn't be lying. She looked at him and saw the same expression from Jinata, albeit tainted with thin cheekbones and a pointy chin.

"He can tell me that himself." She said, and fired.

She laid the mysterious man down on the ground before sprinting off to join Del and Hask.

 **oooooooooooo**

Aidan's body was found hours later by the search party Ahsoka had desperately thrown together. There were still skirmishes being fought on the planet- but the war had been won. The Death Star II had been destroyed. Vader was dead, as was Palpatine. Anakin had been redeemed, as Ahsoka had predicted long ago. There was to be a celebration tonight.

But her son was dying.

Ahsoka had watched the heart monitor flatline four times in the six hours Aidan had been in surgery. Every time, something came through and he was shocked or prodded back to life.

She had sent Hera to find Lux. What an unfortunate way for the two to meet. "Hello, I'm your fiancèe's best friend, and your son is dying, so you should come with me. But it's nice to meet you!"

She probably needed to sit. Vertigo and dizziness assailed her and if she weren't careful she'd probably end up in the medbay, too.

With one hand on her belly and one hand on the railing, Ahsoka held herself up mostly out of pure will. Pure will, anyway, until Lux came hurtling down the hallway and she finally let go into his arms and sank to the ground with him, sobbing. Hera guarded the two of them, seeing for herself how terrible Aidan looked. The Twi-Lek was no doctor, but seeing the amount of blood and stuff on trays she imagined it wasn't going to end well. The General was quick to make sure the grieving parents had a room to wait in for when their son was wheeled out of surgery, hopefully, but not likely, alive.

Lux knew in his heart that Iden had done this. But despite all of it, he couldn't hate her. If Aidan pulled through, it would be a sign for all he was concerned. Lux was close to losing his son- both of his children, actually, if Ahsoka didn't calm down and let the medics help her- and he felt nothing but pity and... hope.

Hope that wasn't futile in the slightest, as Aidan somehow lived even though the droid doctor had no reasonable explanation. They had lost him on the table so many times that protocol was so close to demanding they give up.

The droid had no explanation, but Ahsoka did. And she explained it all to him as she rested in her chair and rubbed her belly, the child inside safe and sound and being carefully looked after as well. She explained something about the force and a daughter and dying herself and having that power, too.

It didn't make much sense.

Aidan wasn't going to wake anytime soon. But he was going to live. Even if the Aidan who opened his eyes wasn't the same Aidan that closed them, it would still be their son. (Due to lack of oxygen, the droid had explained, Aidan was likely to have suffered brain trauma, and may require future medical intervention depending on what and if it was.)

They took watches. Hera, Rex, and Ahsoka alternated in and out while Lux was always there, being nothing to the ranks of the others. He would sit there and ask questions and imagine answers. When two weeks had passed, he made sure to inform his son of his ascendence to the rank of older brother. Lux asked if Aidan wanted a little sister or a little brother. (Lux wanted another little boy. Ahsoka claimed she didn't care, but insisted that Lux was lying and actually wanted a little girl, so that's who she suspected she was carrying.) Aidan supposedly agreed with his father.

Two more weeks went by, and with both parents present, they woke Aidan up. For a few terrible moments their son didn't do anything. Then he breathed. He breathed some more. And that was it.

But he could now hear them. So Lux asked all his questions again and got real answers. Aidan wanted a little brother.

"No he doesn't!" Ahsoka insisted,gesturing wildly. "He's only holding up one finger!"

"One finger means yes!" Lux fired back.

"Well you asked him an open-ended question!"

Then there was a strange sound, and it took a few moments for them to realize that Aidan was laughing at them. The first sound he had made in over a month. Laughter.

"A boy." He managed to groan, and that was that. His eyes opened the next day.

To celebrate his recovery, they had a party. Aidan didn't want to be celebrated, so Hera had the idea of making it into one of those "cutesy baby parties" (her exact words) and so when Aidan was released, that's exactly what they did...Even though Ahsoka had insisted they never would.

It started out as a "welcome home!" sort of a deal because Lux hadn't stepped foot on his home planet in five years, and Aidan never at all. Even though stormtroopers still marched the streets and Imperial ships still roamed the sky, Lux had a place that was small and out of the way and that's where they went. (How they finally freed Onderon for the third time is a story for another time.)

In the end, it was Ahsoka, Rex, both Skywalker twins, Obi-Wan Kenobi's force ghost, and Alexsandr Kallus who were voting "team girl". Lux, Aidan, Commander Wolffe, Sabine, Zeb, Little Jacen, and Anakin's force ghost made up "team boy".

Hera didn't vote because she was the one they had trusted to actually know the gender beforehand and she didn't want to give it away.

At Jacen's insistence, there were balloons. A lot of balloons, and Aidan was having the time of his life playing 'keep away' with his younger "cousin" who was oblivious to the whole idea of the party. He just really liked balloons.

The actual reveal used paint. Everyone suspected it was Sabine's idea, but in reality Aidan had lost some kind of bet with her. He cashed it in by getting a bucket of blue paint dumped on him after much too long a countdown. Lux screamed "yessss!" kissed Ahsoka and then went running for Aidan screaming and hollering and nearly tackled his son in a hug, forgetting that Aidan was technically still fragile and also, in fact, covered in paint. Ahsoka stayed back, watching her boys jump around and yell into Onderon's sky with a smile on her face. Rex had shaken off his surprise and run to join the father and son. Everybody was laughing. Everybody was happy.

"You aren't upset, are you?" Hera joked when she saw the expectant mother standing back by herself. In reality, Ahsoka was just communing with her former masters, who couldn't be seen by most of the crowd gathered here.

"Of course not!" Ahsoka exclaimed. "I knew it was a boy from the very beginning. I'm just thinking how I'm going to convince Lux to let us try again for a girl. Also, I don't think it'd be a good idea for me to go join in." Ahsoka gestured to the mob of people.

"Well, yeah. Usually these things are done earlier in the pregnancy, not when the mother is ready to pop!"

"I'm not really that close, am I?" Ahsoka leaned back and thought for a moment, touching her belly. "Oh. I am, actually. Spending all that time with Aidan threw off my sense of time."

"I don't think I've ever seen Lux this happy." Ahsoka went on, gesturing to the man in question as he practically bounced around like a little kid.

"I don't think I have ever seen anybody this happy." Hers went one better. "Even at the party after Endor."

"Don't talk about Endor." Ahsoka pleaded, gently reminding Hera of all the memories that came with it. "At least, not for a while."

"Okay." Hera agreed, and tried to change the subject. "Okay, so, names. Have you thought of any yet?"

"Aidan said that we could've named a girl Ezra. I don't know if that was a joke or a compliment..." Hera chuckled a bit, and Ahsoka thought back to the promise she had made.

I need to talk to Sabine.

"But in all seriousness, we probably will let Aidan be pretty involved in choosing a name."

Ahsoka concluded, putting a hand to her belly just in time to feel her baby boy tumble about inside her.

Would this little boy be another Aidan? Would he come out with strange blonde hair as well? He was definitely not going to end up with Lekku, that's for sure, because there was no sign of the little knobs on the baby's head at any of the ultrasounds.

Ahsoka excused herself and walked into her new home. It wasn't Lux's home she'd stayed in years ago, but it was still nice and homey and actually the one she had seen in her visions of her family. Aidan would have his own room, and there could be a nursery when the baby got old enough.

Ahsoka wondered the halls, tracing them with her fingertips and looking at all the pictures of Lux and his family.

"Nice, isn't it?" She asked the air, but was actually talking to Anakin, her former master, who was still waiting to finish their conversation from before Hera interrupted.

"Beats anywhere I've lived." Anakin agreed. "Well, except Padme's place."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "You forget, I had my own room there, too. I had you two figured out since day one."

"Whatever." Anakin rolled his eyes.

He came closer to her. Other people would have been skeptical or even scared, but Ahsoka had known redemption was coming ever since she left the order and really opened herself to the force. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm tired as hell, but this little one isn't." Ahsoka sighed, looking down and seeing her belly move to accommodate another kick.

"Padmè had meds to help her sleep. I didn't totally agree with them- I worried too much for the babies- but they did help."

"What is sleep, anyway?" Ahsoka asked. "I know it may be an entire year before I sleep again. I've been trying to prep Lux but he doesn't believe me."

"Lux is an...interesting guy." Anakin conceded. "But, I wasn't prepared for fatherhood either. And I never got the chance."

"No, you didn't, Anakin, and you wouldn't have lasted long at all!" Obi-Wan barged into the conversation and started bickering with his old Padawan. The older Jedi master then looked toward Ahsoka. "My dear, I think it's best you lay down. You aren't looking too well."

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, Master, I'm pregnant."

"With a boy!" Anakin announced. "Pay up, Kenobi!"

Ahsoka wasn't sure what currency dead force- users would pay in, but she left the two of them in the hall, still arguing. Obi-Wan was right. She did need to lay down.

Hopefully, she would manage just a few hours of rest.


	29. Chapter 29

"How's mom doing?"

"Oh, fine." Lux told his son over the comm, a smile on his face. "Just a bit tired of your brother using her ribs as a punching bag."

"I've been told I was worse." Aidan responded.

"Leia and I are still trying to work out the details about Onderon's occupation. There's a lot of desertion and stuff going on. Lots of new recruits, so after we get them sorted out we'll likely be on our way over there."

On Aidan's side of the call, his comm blinked with indication of another incoming message. "I have to go. Leia's calling."

Aidan hung up on his father and immediately opened the channel from Leia. She was on Naboo at the moment, having cleared up some resistance there, and was calling him to meet her there.

 _Finally, something to get me away from all this desk work._

While Aidan hadn't yet pursued piloting as his career, he did find himself doing it more and more often now that his mother's X-wing would be vacant for a long time. He didn't get sick anymore, and he found himself comfortable at the controls. Not comfortable enough to fly into battle, say, but still able to take a simple hyperspace trip to Naboo.

That's where he headed, calling his father back to finish their conversation. While Aidan had been busy with the New Republic, Lux was still dealing with political turmoil back home on Onderon. After his next son was born, he'd likely become even more involved.

Speaking of which, by human standards Ahsoka's due date was a month away. By Togruta standards, it was a month past. Every day had been a gamble as to whether the newest Bonteri would make an appearance, and Lux was as nervous as he was excited, especially after that day had been determined to be now. Aidan had absolute confidence that everything was going okay. While his father droned on and on about baby things Aidan interjected every once and awhile. In the background, he could hear his mother complaining about being uncomfortable. Lux went out of comm range for a moment, then jumped back in to leave in a hurry to be by his wife's side.

A bit anxious for his mother's wellbeing, Aidan wished everybody to be well and prayed that Leia didn't need him for very long.

The sky above Naboo was littered with debris, both from Imperial and Rebellion- excuse him, New Republic- ships. Aidan felt rather like he was flying through a minefield.

His last thought before entering Naboo's atmosphere was that the planet's surface was very similar to Onderon's, with blues and greens and wispy clouds.

Aidan made to land at Theed, near the palace that Leia asked to meet at, and found it hard to find an open spot. There were obvious signs of a battle: wrecked AT-ATs and their smaller chicken-like cousins littered the plaza as well as a few X-wings and TIE fighters. Dead soldiers from both sides took up lots of room, and Aidan could smell blaster fire leading all the way up to the palace doors, where it stopped. Finding it warm inside the building, Aidan unzipped the top half of his flight suit and tied it on his waist to keep from burning up.

In several corridors, a squad or two of stormtroopers were looked after by New Republic soldiers. Unlike the soldiers he was used to seeing, these stormtroopers had their helmets off, their faces dejected and disoriented about everything that had happened. It was the first time Aidan had seen helmet-less stormtroopers in his years of fighting. They were all human. Men and women.

He shook off his confusion and continued down the halls. People saluted him, and he dismissed them and entered the throne room.

"Ah, good, Aidan!" Leia greeted him. "As you probably saw, we have a lot of soldiers to take care of, and also, one of our newest additions, Iden Versio, asked for your father. As he's not available I figured I could call you-"

 _Iden Versio_.

Aidan's old wound suddenly began to hurt. His mind flashbacked to that day on Endor, of Hask beating him, Iden shooting him.

"I don't want to talk to her."

"Aidan," Leia leaned in, softened her voice. "she's good now. Been pardoned, helped us defeat the Imperial blockade and stopped Operation Cinder on this planet."

"Is she alone?"

"Del Meeko defected with her, but she's okay with speaking alone if you wish."

"No, it's fine. You come with me and it'll be two on two."

Leia stuttered a bit, but then saw the expression in her friend's eye. "Okay. I'll be right with you."

The door in front of them opened. Across the room, Del Meeko and Iden Versio waited by the window. When Leia and Aidan entered, the first thing out of Del's mouth was:

"You're not Lux."

"My _father_." Aidan exaggerated. "Is occupied. I'll hear what you have to say and decide then if I want payback for what you did to me on Endor."

Del stepped forward as if to protect Iden. Leia put a hand on Aidan's arm when he snarled.

"That wasn't us. It was all Hask."

"She shot me!" Aidan yelled, gesturing toward Iden, and Del looked shocked to hear that. He turned to Iden. "Did you really?"

Iden didn't answer. She was looking at Aidan, processing his words, evaluating how dangerous it would be to say something.

"I had to make it look real."

"Look real?" Aidan continued, pushing against Leia's arm. "I flatlined six times during surgery!"

"I needed a reason to get close to you so I could relay my message." Iden excused, looking ashamed of her actions. At this, Aidan softened a bit, and Leia let go of him. Grumbling, the blonde haired man sat down in a chair as everyone else followed.

"Look. You guys did a lot of damage to a lot of different people. But if Leia trusts you, if my father trusts you, then I can give you a chance."

Del looked like he wanted to say something, but Iden elbowed him into silence. "Thank you."

"We, uh, we never got your name." Del said. "We never even knew the Ment- Lux had a son."

"Well, neither did he until a year ago. And now he's got two." Everyone was shocked at that, and Leia immediately was whisper-asking about the new baby. Aidan shrugged her off until-

"Sounds about right." Del coughed, and Aidan narrowed his eyes and jumped up, lunging for him.

"You aren't hiding in a tree now, sniper boy! Want to fight me now, like a real man?!"

Del scooted away a bit, but instead of him standing it was actually Iden who answered Aidan's challenge. She looked to her comrade.

"Del. You're not helping. Get out."

"But I-"

"Out!"

Now Aidan's eyes were on Iden. Iden, who should be his enemy, was agreeing with him.

"Leia. Go keep an eye on him." Aidan muttered in a stage whisper and she did. Now, it was as it should be. Aidan and Iden alone, fuming, but not at each other.

"I'm sorry." Said the ex-Imperial commando. "I don't know what's gotten into Del. He's not usually like this."

"He must not know my father as well as you do."

Iden nodded. "Out of the four of us, I spent the most time with your father. Del and Hask and Seyn had other friends within the Dreamers. I heard lots of stories about Lux's stepdaughter, but none about you."

"As I said. He's known me for a year." Aidan didn't feel like going into details, but Iden was a surprisingly good listener. So he told her about how his mom was a Jedi and supposedly killed, leading Lux to remarry and never learn of him.

"But he found my mom again." He began to conclude."And they're really happy together. My little brother will be born any minute now."

Realizing how long he had rambled on, he immediately snapped back to reality. "I'm sorry. You don't care. I don't know why I said-"

Iden waved him off. "Don't apologize. I'm getting the feeling not a lot of people know the truth. And I'm glad you trusted me with it."

"Don't think ill of my father for it. Please. He doesn't deserve it."

Iden surprised him by shaking her head. "That's just it. I can't think ill of your father. He's a better man than most of the ones I know."

"Del doesn't think so."

"Del doesn't think." Iden said, smirking. "Much."

"I don't think he likes me." Aidan laughed a bit.

"Not much I can do about that, though."

"But, he's right about one thing. We really didn't ever get your name."

"You called me Blondie on Endor."

"I doubt Lux Bonteri has a son named Blondie. It's probably something more... I don't know... fancy?"

"Aidan." Said Aidan, smiling. "My name's Aidan. My mother named me."

"Aidan." Iden repeated. "That's... oddly similar to mine."

"Coincidence." Aidan shrugged, then cleared his throat. "Look. I know you're slightly disappointed in not being able to see my father, and I apologize also for the fact I never relayed your message. But if you want to see him... I can arrange that."

"I'd like that."

"Maybe sometime in a few months. As I mentioned, there's about to be a baby in the house, and we all know how hectic that can be."

"Whatever you and your family needs. We've ruined it for long enough. Go home, and we'll cross bridges when we come to them." When Aidan's comm beeped, she seemed to take the cue. "Thank you for talking to me."

"Thank you for listening."

They both walked to the door, and something more occurred to Aidan. "Hey, Iden?"

"Yes, Captain?" She responded, having picked up his new rank from his insignia. Her posture became one of a soldier awaiting orders.

"How'd you like to help Lux Bonteri free Onderon?"

 **ooooooooo**

Aidan rushed home after filling Iden in with the details of his plan. It was a good one that his father had come up with to be executed in a few weeks on a planet wide holiday.

But that could wait.

Right now, he had a baby brother to meet.

Or soon meet, anyway. The chaotic atmosphere of the household made it clear that while the baby was certainly on his way, he had not yet arrived.

Rex and Jacen were in the living room, passing time. When Aidan walked in the door, the little boy ran to him and leaped into his arms, giggling happily while Rex informed Aidan of the situation. Hera was playing midwife, as Ahsoka had done for her years ago, and around eight hours had elapsed since Ahsoka's water broke.

"Whatcha drawing there, bud?" Aidan asked Jacen after thanking Rex for the update.

"I drawed you!" Jacen exclaimed proudly, holding up a sheet of paper for Aidan to see.

"Wow! That's so good!" Aidan admired, ruffling up Jacen's green hair.

"And I drawed the Ghost, and Chopper, and Uncle Rex!" The boy continued, oblivious to the fact that Aidan had settled down next to said uncle and wasn't listening anymore. He was tired. Maybe he could have a short nap...

It seemed that he had barely shut his eyes when Rex shook him awake. "Kid!"

"Wha-" Aidan asked, blinking away sleep.

"Your mother wants to see you." Rex had a big grin on his face, and Aidan knew what had happened. He jumped up and rushed to his parents' bedroom.

His mother looked tired, but happy. His father was beaming ear to ear sitting next to his wife, and Hera was moving quickly to give Aidan room. There wasn't much to clean up as most of Ahsoka's labour had been in the bathroom in the tub of warm water for her comfort.

Cautiously, the new brother crept to his mother's side and smiled at her. "Hi, mom."

He didn't know what else to say.

Ahsoka blinked tiredly a few times, then asked if he wanted to see the baby. Nearly jumping with joy, Aidan agreed.

His mother tugged back a bit of blanket from her chest. Under it, Aidan began to see wisps of hair on top of a tiny baby's head. A few more tugs, and he could see the profile his brother's face

contrasting against his mother's orange skin.

"He looks just like you did." Ahsoka whispered, tracing one of her newborn's cheeks with a gentle finger. "Except the hair. And he's smaller."

Tiny noises like mewing were coming from the baby's mouth, his hands searching for something to grab onto.

"Here. Hold him." Ahsoka said, beginning to wrap her baby more securely even as Aidan protested to no avail. "And name him."

"Name him?" Aidan asked.

"Go on, son." Lux urged.

Remembering how he held Jacen as a baby, Aidan accepted the precious bundle and held it close to his chest. His brother gurgled and hiccuped and looked up at him with dark blue eyes, not anywhere near the tint they would settle on. "Hey, buddy." He whispered. "I'm Aidan. I'm your big brother. And I'm always gonna take care of you."

The baby seemed to like this idea, and he lifted a tiny hand. Aidan gently took it and admired the size and cuteness of the little marvel. "Do I really get to name him?"

Ahsoka nodded. Lux made sure to clarify. "Within reason."

"Let's call him Eaan." Aidan said, after thinking a moment. "Eaan Bonteri."

Ahsoka and Lux agreed to the suggestion. "Eaan it is." The latter declared, smiling even wider.

Eaan began to fuss: perhaps Aidan wasn't holding him comfortably, and Lux subbed in to save an outburst.

Aidan knelt beside his mother and took her hand. "Do you need anything?"

Ahsoka gave a list of things. A fruit smoothie, some water, and a shoulder massage. Aidan set off to make the smoothie, relaying Eaan's image to Rex in the living room as he worked. It wouldn't be too long before the clone captain got to see him for himself.

After a few hours had passed, both Ahsoka and Eaan had gone to sleep and Aidan finally got to tell his father about his encounter with Iden.

"She seemed legit. Helped fight against the Empire on Naboo and everything. Owned up to her crimes. Apologized. If anything, Del was the ugly one."

"Really?" Lux asked, surprised as he sipped a cup of tea.

"Or maybe he was just protective, like mom says I get sometimes. Whatever it is, he was ready to fight me."

"Hmm. Del always struck me as an easy-going sort of fellow."

"Except when he's trying to kill you." Aidan suggested, smirking. "But I can't blame him. He probably thought I was threatening Iden. Something's definitely going on between them, and I only know because they remind me of you and mom."

"I mean, if he defected with her then at the very least those two are good friends." Lux supposed, still flabbergasted. He saw sparks flying between _Hask_ and Iden, not _Del_ and Iden.

"Relationships are weird." Aidan concluded, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair so that it was balancing on two legs. "That's why I'm not in one."

Lux gave him a look, like _I don't believe you for a second._ "I'm going to remind you of that when you bring someone home for us to meet."

His son opened his mouth for a snarky retort, but didn't get the chance when the sound of a baby's cries floated from the master bedroom all the way outdoors. Lux glanced at his watch. Had it already been three hours?

"Well, if he's hungry I can't help with that."

Shrugged the senator, settling down once again.

"I'm sure I'll be forced to do my fair share of diaper changes."

"All of them." His son translated, and narrowly avoided the swat his father threatened him with. "What! You missed all of mine!"

"Yeah, you're right I probably deserve it." Lux relented, then sighed heavily. "For the record, I never saw this happening."

"Saw what happening?"

"This." Lux gestured to the whole of the area around him: the house, the sky, Aidan, his cup of tea, even himself. "Life is a strange game."

"But a rewarding one." Aidan finished, setting his chair back on all four legs so he could stand up and roll out some of his joints. "Speaking of which- Rex wants to try a pub in town. Wanna come?"

"I shouldn't." Lux said, then realized something. "Wait. How old are you?"

Aidan rolled his eyes. "Over twenty-one."

"If you get drunk, don't bother coming home. Your mother will kill me."

"I love you too, dad." Aidan quipped but waved as he left the patio.

Now alone, Lux took the last sip of his tea and wondered, as he said, how life had permitted him to get here.

As if on cue, he heard Eaan, his son, start another fit of crying. So he wasn't hungry, then. Bemused, the new father left his seat and brought his tea inside, setting the empty cup in the sink before hurrying down the hall, peeking in the guest room where Hera and her son were presently staying in order to check if they needed anything. They didn't.

Finally, he reached his own bedroom at the end of the hall. Ahsoka, his wonderful, beautiful wife, was cradling their son against her chest as she rocked him in the chair. Since his birth late that afternoon, Eaan had been dressed in a small baby's onesie and sported socks and gloves to match so he didn't accidentally scratch himself.

"You shouldn't be up." Lux chided, kissing one of Ahsoka's montrals as he knelt to her level. "Hera said at least to rest overnight."

"I got tired." Ahsoka shrugged, and gently tugged Eaan's blanket a bit looser as his hand was caught in it. "He's a hard man to please."

"Oh, give him here." Lux chuckled, sitting across from her on the corner of their bed. He could hold his son out in front of him with both hands and make eye contact with him, talk to him. For a few seconds, Eaan looked as his father with a puzzled expression, but then waved his tiny fists again and continued with his fussing. With a sigh, Lux checked his diaper (a feat which surprised Ahsoka. Maybe she didn't give the new dad enough credit) and went off to change it. Now content, Eaan settled into the crook of his father's arms with a satisfied yawn.

A yawn that spread to his mother, who wiped her eyes afterward. To Lux, this was a _clear_ indication that she was overexerting herself, and began berating her for moving so soon after pushing a small human out of the most sensitive part of her body. Ahsoka, who took way too much joy in seeing her husband acting like a mother hen, simply got up and walked the long way around the room to get back in bed. "Happy now? I'm back in bed."

Lux set the now sleeping baby in his bassinet at the front of the room and crawled back up to rest his head on a pillow. "I'll see you in three hours."

"Three?" Ahsoka scoffed, scooting closer to him and resting her head on his chest. "No, this son of yours is much too hungry for that! I'll see you in two."

There was a rumbling sound and Ahsoka felt Lux's chest vibrate with the motion of his laughter. "Two hours, then." He paused, kissed her head. "I love you, Ahsoka. I feel like I don't say it enough."

"Then say it one more time." She proposed, looking up to his face as he traced a gentle hand down her central lekku.

"I love you, Ahsoka," Lux whispered.

"I love you too, Lux."


	30. Chapter 30

"I feel naked."

Everyone in the room stopped to stare at the esteemed commander of Inferno Squad as she tried to look at her own back. Iden wore a floor length dress that exposed most of her back and shoulders.

"Don't worry, you look beautiful." Ahsoka said, fussing over her while Eaan hung from the sling on her chest. Iden had of course worn a dress before, but she didn't enjoy doing soon and it tended to make her feel very exposed.

Del blushed a bit and Lux definitely noticed, but continued to fix Aidan's bowtie. Lux was the only one comfortable enough with fancy attire and had so far tied both his own and Aidan's in the time it took Del to even get the cuffs of his shirt folded back.

"Too many layers." Aidan complained, panting. "I'm burning up!"

"Quit crying about it, you big baby!" Scolded Rex, the only one not to be sporting formal attire. He would be disguised as an Onderonian guard.

"He's also been crying about his hair." Sashu snickered, and Aidan self-conciously ran a hand through his much shorter hair. Now, it clung to his scalp with limited freedom.

The occasion?

A holiday ball and ceremony to reconfirm Lux as the rightful Senator of Onderon. With an overwhelming majority, the people had eagerly elected him back into office as soon as they learned he was alive. Now, three months after Eaan's birth, Lux was finally where he belonged.

"And here are the bugs." Said Del, opening a small case to hand everyone a small, near invisible chip to fit inside their ears for ease of communication. Sashu would have to do without one. He'd spend most of the time shadowing Lux, anyway.

The objective?

Protect Lux.

It seemed silly, and selfish, but he really was at risk. Rumors of Imperial sympathizers and vigilantes from the reign of the last Imperial-placed Senator would supposedly be lurking and seeking to do harm.

Eaan began to fuss and Ahsoka excused herself to go take care of him, casting a last glance at her family and friends before leaving the room.

"Alright." Lux straightened his shoulders, looked at the group in front of him. And frowned. "Del, fix your hair. Aidan, pull your socks up or your pants down." They hadn't had enough preparation to find a suit that actually fit Aidan, so his pant legs didn't quite fall to his ankles and his skin showed. Del's hair had already lost its shape from all the gel he had put on.

"I think they're fine, Bonteri." Rex said, watching the troops struggle to assume their new roles. "Nobody's going to care about ankles or hair."

"But it will be noticed!" Lux exclaimed. "And Iden... Maybe you should switch places with Rex."

"I do look good in a dress." Said Rex, dryly. "It really brings out the color of my eyes."

That sparked a chorus of laughter from all but Lux and Iden. The latter placed a fatherly hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll be fine. In a few hours you'll be out of this dress, and until then I can try and find you a jacket."

Lux hurried off, back to his bedroom where Ahsoka was feeding Eaan. "I thought you all had left? What are you doing?"

"Being diplomatic." Lux called from their closet. "Compromising with Iden." He pushed aside his own clothes to the very back of the closet, where his older or seasonal clothes resided. Those, and also some old dresses from when his stepdaughter used to stay with him and leave clothes around. She and Iden were about the same size. If he could find a jacket that matched the color of Iden's dress...

"'Soka!" He called, tossed a crimson colored article of clothing out and onto the bed for her to inspect. "Does that work?"

"You're asking the wrong person for fashion advice." Ahsoka said, but picked it up anyway. Eaan burbled and tried to reach for it and she held it just out of the baby's reach. "This should work."

"Great!" Lux said and rushed to take it back, then hurried out of the door, stopping to check his hair in the hall 'fresher. All good.

Everyone was waiting for him when he came back and handed the jacket to Iden. Thankful, the commando slipped it on and situated her long hair to accommodate it.

"I believe we've stalled long enough." He said. "Everyone, to the speeder."

ooooooooooo

Del drove while everyone discussed last minute details. Their earpieces would transmit everything if one person decided to wander off or whatnot. Most of the night would be a dinner after a speech, but there would be plenty of time for drinks to be had. That was the dangerous part.

I'm really doing this. Lux thought. For a brief moment, he was decades younger and attending this kind of event without as much a threat. Only now, there was much more political turmoil on the planet, with the Empire having abolished the monarchy even though it was simply constitutional. The king had died, leaving no heir (well, actually, the responsibility would have fallen to Lux himself. In a way he was glad that the Empire abolished it.) Now, the senator would be the most prestigious position on the planet.

According to custom, the Senator would lead the group he travelled with accompanied by his wife. With Ahsoka absent, the responsibility fell to his firstborn son, thus Aidan walked beside his father, ignoring stares and whispers as it was his first public appearance. The guard on Lux's left was Rex in disguise. Sashu, posing as a representative of the Togruta population of Onderon had the position behind Lux, with Iden and Del taking up the rear as "advisors" to the Senator of Onderon. If anyone recognized them, they didn't say. Or they didn't care.

"Ahh, the honorable Senator Bonteri!" Exclaimed a fellow human man, approaching with wide arms and a diplomatic grin plastered on his face. "A much needed sight for sore eyes!"

"Ambassador Delon, my old friend!" Lux seemed genuinely happy to see this man, a fact that led Aidan to easily profile him as a friend. Nevertheless, a friend could still be filed away for investigation.

Rex-the-Onderonian-guard stationed himself an acceptable distance away and looked at Aidan, who glanced sideways at him and then back to the conversation.

Inevitably, the Ambassador's gaze drifted towards Aidan, turned questionable. Aidan didn't know this, but the last time Lux and the Ambassador met was twelve years ago. That could definitely spark questions in his mind. Questions that an educated man could answer.

"Bonteri, you old rascal!" He clapped Lux on the shoulder and lowered his voice. "You, of all people..."

Lux couldn't do anything but grin sheepishly. "Oops."

"But a chip off the old block!" Continued Delon, getting a good look at Aidan as he shook his hand. "What's your name, son?"

"Aidan." Said Aidan, feeling much more uncomfortable than he'd expected. Lux noticed his son's expression, close to that of a cornered animal and moved to distract his friend.

The two men began conversing once again, Aidan's earpiece relaying things such as Lux explaining that his previous marriage had ended after Niisha had put him on the wanted list.

Turning to his friends, Aidan tried not to focus on that and engaged in talk and drink with his compatriots.

"Is this your first time, then?" Del asked, noting Aidan's overall discomfort with the situation.

"My what?"

"Your first major public event." Del clarified. "An Inaugural dinner and ceremony."

"Yes." Aidan replied, tugging at his collar. He couldn't breathe in this thing.

"I grew up at parties like these."Del continued. "Both me and Iden. Doesn't make them easier to bear. I've never been much for drinking." As if to prove point, he set his glass of wine down. "Have you seen Iden?"

Aidan shook his head, loosening his bowtie. Hopefully, his father wouldn't notice. Now that he could breathe a little more soundly, he was able to pay full attention to what Del was asking and even went off with his friend to find the commander.

Lux watched the three of them leave out of the corner of his eye. Suspicious, but not too concerned, he let them be and continued conversing with anyone who felt the need to approach him.

Del and Aidan snuck through the crowd, looking for Iden's particular crimson dress in an endless sea of colors.

"There she is." Aidan spotted her across the room and pointed. Iden was stationed across from them, leaning behind a pillar, watching someone.

"Who've you got, Iden?" Del asked so everyone on the channel could hear her reply.

"Lux's ex, I'm pretty sure." At that, three pairs of eyes shot to where Lux was standing, expecting to see some kind of reaction. His eyes widened ever so slightly, but other than that, there was no real response.

"What's she doing here?" Rex asked. "Bonteri, don't tell me you drug us all out here because you don't want to have to talk to your ex. That's teenage soap opera material."

"No, she's dangerous." Iden insisted, shutting Rex up. Aidan could practically hear him sulking.

"I'll stay posted." The clone finally agreed. Across the room and behind Lux, a guard straightened and repositioned their spear on the ground. Nobody paid him any heed.

"Who is it, Iden?"

"Four o'clock. Blue dress. Two of them, actually. Her daughter's there,too."

"Del, stay here and be ready to go. Rex, watch Dad. I'm going to Iden." With that, the blonde-haired man made his way across the floor, passing dignitaries and ambassadors who mostly didn't care for him. A few stared, but none stopped him. Aidan slid beside Iden, close enough that they could talk without being heard. Motioning to her, they both removed their earpieces.

"Tell me everything you know." Aidan demanded, ignoring the buzz of protest from the earpiece between fingers. His hands were becoming numb from its pulse. Or was that something else.?

"Niisha Delilah hails from the planet and married your father in 15 BBY. Her daughter's a couple years older than you. Much sweeter than your mother. If we separate them, we'll have a shot at- Aidan?"

She stopped talking to look at him. Aidan was still struggling to breathe, and he was looking red and flush as he leaned on the pillar more than casually. "Aidan, what's wrong?"

"Suddenly... sick." Aidan gasped. "Can't breathe. Can't feel- anything."

Iden hurried to put her earpiece back in as Aidan's limp hands dropped his own. "We'll go in here." She announced so that they could be followed. Looping her arm through Aidan's elbow, they looked nothing more than a companion helping her date who'd had too much to drink.

"You're burning up." She whispered, so low the others couldn't hear. Then, she spoke louder. "Guys, Aidan's down."

"Hold on, down? What do you mean?" Del inquired.

"Looks like poison. Did anyone else drink?"

Del said yes, and Lux made a small affirmative noise. Iden heard him begin to wrap up whatever conversation he was having.

"Yeah, the kid went dark." Rex said. "Did you say poison?"

"I'm fine, and I've had more than one glass. Aidan had one sip."

"Then it must've somehow been just his glass."

"Not possible." Del countered. "I poured it from the same pitcher, and Aidan's glass was one of hundreds."

"I'm fine, too." Lux added. "Iden, where are you?"

"No, Lux. Stay where you are. It's too suspicious." Iden ordered. "Rex, keep to the plan. Del, we'll just assume that this is a poison that doesn't work on everyone..." realization hit her. "Del, don't let-what's his name- Sashu, don't let him drink."

"What? Why?"

"Togruta blood. It's not a poison for humans." Iden insisted, she glanced back down at Aidan. He didn't look worse, but he certainly wasn't better. "Aidan, talk to me."

With difficulty, the blonde man began to claw at his throat. Iden took the hint and began to unbutton his collar, and finally just ripped down the middle of his shirt to rid him of it and let him breath. Aidan was sweating everywhere, but also overcome with chills.

"Try and get it out." She suggested. "Could you throw up?"

Aidan shook his head. "Throat." He croaked, and Iden knew that meant it was closing. "Lux." She asked. "Are there medics here?"

"Probably. But poison needs an antidote, not a doctor."

Before the senator could finish the thought, Del Meeko rushed into the room, looking worried. He saw Iden sitting over Aidan, who was lying vulnerably across a couch that was most likely decorative. That's not what made his expression change to anger. No, he caught Iden in the middle of unbuttoning Aidan's undershirt, exposing his bare skin.

"Del." Iden said. "This isn't- for kriff's sake, Del! He's been poisoned! I'm helping him breathe, you idiot!"

Saying nothing, Del rushed backwards out of the room. Seconds later, his comm went dark. He wasn't listening to her anymore.

"Lux." Iden said, urgently. "What were you saying about that antidote?"

"There's only one person here who could possibly know that the people close to me are Togruta." His voice was curt, angry and very, very low. Iden was terrified. Somebody was about to feel the wrath of Lux Bonteri, and while it wouldn't be much, it would be enough.

Lux stalked across the room, eyes set on the woman who was caught in his crosshairs. Around the perimeter of the room, Rex snaked in order to help corner her, Sashu slipped outside.

He approached her from behind, and it was Redia who saw him first. The poor girl looked sick and frightened herself, and Lux knew it was only because she had likely been forced into this by her witch of a mother. Noting her daughter's sudden interest in someone behind her, Niisha Delilah-Imperial loyalist, former wife of Lux Bonteri- turned.

"Oh, hello, Senator dear." She said sweetly. It was clearly a challenge. She was daring Lux to do anything that would draw attention from the crowd.

Lux grabbed her by her elbow. Not tight, but hard enough. "Where's the antidote?" He asked through gritted teeth.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said back. Lux simply held a small pistol to the small of her back.

"Give it to me or I swear there will be hell to pay."

"I'm guessing it worked, then?" She shot back. "I never did get to see that Togruta whore you call a wife. Or your half-breed son-"

There was a shot. Not from Lux's gun, but instead from somewhere he couldn't see. At the moment, he didn't care. All around him, people panicked and began to run, all except Lux and Niisha. Seated on the shoulder of one of the giant plaster statues, Del Meeko gave Lux a tiny salute. He nodded back.

"Niisha, I swear. If you don't give it to me right now I will kill you."

"I don't have it."

Lux's pistol clicked. The safety was off.

"I originally planned to kill you." Niisha said. "But, seeing as even Inferno Squad failed, I knew you wouldn't die so easily." She raised her voice. "Where are you, traitors!"

"One of them's got a gun trained on you." Lux said. "And another one is in there with my dying son."

"Oh, you always were too emotional." She scoffed. "I don't care about your son. I just know that once he's gone, I will have hurt you in a way so bad you'll wish you were dead. Or maybe you'll even kill yourself."

A few meters away, Lux saw Rex, helmet off, walking towards them with another woman. In the commotion, Lux hadn't even realized Redia had run off. But that wasn't important. "The necklace." Announced the clone. "It's in her necklace."

"And so, my own daughter proves herself a traitor." Niisha laughed, but there was no humour.

Overcome with rage, Lux ripped the necklace from Niisha's neck and stared at it. It had been a gift he'd given to her once upon a time. Now it was mocking him.

The next thing he realized, Rex was shouting a warning and Del fired. In his brief moment spent examining the piece of jewelry, Niisha had brandished a weapon of her own-

Del came rappelling down from his perch, then rushed to apprehend the devil woman. His shot had only hit the weapon in her hand and prevented her from shooting. Lux tossed the necklace to him, sent him off to help Aidan. Then, he ordered Rex to uncuff Redia and put them on Niisha instead. The captain hesitated a second too long for his taste and Lux snapped at him to get moving.

"She's done nothing wrong." Lux opened his arms, and the girl he'd raised rushed into them, crying. It would be awhile before she recovered. Redia was twenty-seven standard years old, but years of abuse from her mother changed her in a way that left anybody fooled.

"I need to go, sweetheart." He whispered. Redia clung harder, and Lux just sighed in defeat. "I need to go see if Aidan's okay." He tried, surprised at how calm he sounded. Normally, Lux Bonteri would be panicking at the prospect of someone dying. Now, however, proved much more... fulfilling? Niisha in custody, Redia safe with him, and Aidan...

He saw Iden and Del exit the room Aidan had occupied, Aidan balanced between them. Weak, but alive.

A very fulfilling day indeed.

"Wait," Rex said, suddenly, startling everyone. "Where's Sashu?"

Frantic glances began across the room. Then, there was a crashing noise. Speak of the devil, Sashu rushed inside the room, an unconscious man under each arm. "Found some bad guys." He declared and dropped them onto the floor as they groaned. Casting a glance towards Niisha, Lux looked for any sign of recognition on her face. She was scowling, something she did a lot, so Lux didn't know whether they were truly in league with her. "Sashu, we'll hold those two in local custody for a little bit."

"What're we going to do with this one, Lux?" Rex asked, holding Niisha by the cuffs.

"We'll take her back home for a bit, and then send her back with Aidan, Del, and Iden." The prisoner in question glowered in protest and shook against her chains, but Rex held firm, not wanting to allow her to hurt anybody else.

Redia spoke a few words so soft Lux could hardly hear them. "Am I safe?"

"Yes, you are," Lux said back without missing a beat, keeping a loose and gentle fatherly grip on her shoulder. "Let's go home."


	31. Chapter 31

Ahsoka figured out quite easily the events that had transpired, knowing full well that Lux had no ill intentions bringing someone like Niisha to their house. Once she heard about Aidan's poisoning, however, it was all Lux could do to keep his wife from rushing to confront her.

"I'm only going to keep her here until I go stand before the New Republic." He assured Ahsoka, who was still livid. "She could have answers, 'Soka."

"Fine." She eventually agreed, but her defiant attitude wasn't fooling Lux. He took her by the hand and pulled her into his old office, currently being remodeled into a bedroom for Eaan as he was getting old enough to sleep through the night alone.

"What's troubling you now?" He asked, pulling her into his arms. She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder.

"You know I can't help but be skeptical," Ahsoka said. "We moved here to get away from the action, remember? Now I feel as if we've just opened a whole new can of worms."

"And we may have." Lux conceded. "But we have an answer."

"I don't want answers to the fighting, I want time with my family. Time with you." She added, suggestively, whispering that he'd not yet given her the little girl she wanted.

" 'Soka, you just had a baby. And besides, I'm too old."

"All the more reason to do it sooner." She insisted.

Lux was about to respond to that, but then one of Ahsoka's lekku twitched- her attention was being drawn elsewhere. Then, just as quickly her demeanor relaxed. "Speaking of babies, your son is awake." She said, answering the question before he'd even asked.

"Which one?" Lux asked, chuckling. "And what do you mean, 'my' son?"

"Eaan's your son when he's fussy." Ahsoka insisted, smirking.

"Of course he is." Lux shot right back and separated from their embrace. "I'd better go see what he wants."

So much for him sleeping through the night.

When Lux exited the room and entered the hall, he could hear the commotion from the living room. Iden, Del, and Sashu were laughing about something while Rex was on guard duty in the basement, with a chair to sit in and a stun gun and strict instructions on what to do if Niisha caused any problems. Lux would try talking to her tomorrow.

Thanks to Ahsoka's warning, Lux was able to get to his son's crib side before he'd even began to cry. In fact, Eaan seemed to be in a happy mood except for the fact that he probably needed a change. Lux lovingly scooped his son up in his arms before he realized someone was watching from the doorway. The newest addition to their family, Redia, whose large green eyes looked upon the scene with great interest.

Lux knew that legally he would never be able to treat her as his own daughter, given that Niisha would never sink as low as to give up her parental rights. But, with Redia being a legal adult she was free to live where she wished. She had clearly chosen Lux. Clearly, she didn't despise him, as Lux had told Iden she may.

"I didn't know you had a baby." She said, holding onto the doorway with tight knuckles.

"I didn't think I would ever have one, " Lux shrugged. "but here we are. You haven't even met Ahsoka yet, have you?"

She shook her head even as Lux beckoned her forward. "Isn't he cute?"

Redia nodded again. Her actions seemed minimal, but to Lux, he considered himself immensely lucky to have her even communicating this much with him after so long a separation. Who knows what Niisha had done to her after she'd discovered she was feeding him intel?

"Does your wife hate me?" Redia asked now.

"Of course not." Lux hugged her with one arm. "why would you think that?"

"Because my mother hated me."

Seemed simple enough. Lux could understand where she was coming from.

"Ahsoka doesn't hate you. Actually, she's always wanted a daughter and I'm sure she'd want to meet you. So would Aidan, my other son."

"The one who mother tried to hurt?"

Lux nodded, sat down on the edge of the bed so he could be more eye level with her and also comfortably hold the baby. For a three-month-old, Lux didn't see much difference between the moment Eaan was born and now.

Maybe he had gotten heavier? Lux couldn't tell. He continued to show Eaan off to Redia until the baby's crying turned from attention-seeking to something else, luckily Ahsoka was on her way.

Hearing footsteps, Redia stiffened and grasped Lux's arm again. He whispered a few reassuring words to her just as Ahsoka entered the room.

oooooooooo

After ending her conversation with Lux, Ahsoka took the opposite route down the hall and peeked into Aidan's room. He'd been sleeping on and off for hours, and even now blinked his eyes open when she entered.

"Well." Aidan quipped after she'd come to his bedside. "That was certainly one way to introduce me to the public."

"At least all of Onderon knows the resilience of their prince."

Aidan echoed the word prince, feeling a little self-conscious of the Basic translation of the role. "Resilient, maybe. But I was definitely stupid, too." Aidan sighed. "Besides, now Dad will probably have me learn to give speeches. Iden told me how hard it was to please him. I don't want to be a politician, mom. I want to be a pilot!"

"Ah, the words I have been waiting to hear for years!" Ahsoka exaggerated, clasping her hands together. "But, we all know with your father's election, our duties may change."

"I don't want to change!" Aidan protested, sitting up higher in his bed. "Can't Eaan be dad's successor instead?"

His mother took a breath that meant what she was about to say was going to be possibly out of character. "You have to understand the tradition, " she began. "On Onderon, and especially within the government the responsibility of taking over jobs always falls to the oldest child. Your father didn't have a choice, being an only child-"

"And now I have no choice, either." Aidan huffed, turning away to sulk.

"Life isn't always fair, Aidan," Ahsoka said as he gave her the silent treatment. It didn't last long once she turned her back to leave.

With the excitement over, Aidan was yawning and began to pull the covers back up over him. Ahsoka noted this and made to leave for real, promising to let Aidan see his little brother in the morning. Hopefully, Aidan would be fully recovered by then after the poison and antidote ran their course. He had developed a rash on his neck and had a red throat but other than that he was slowly recovering.

As she neared her and Lux's room, she could make out words being spoken between him and a female voice she'd not heard before: Lux's stepdaughter, Redia. Eaan's crying floated over all of it.

She noted the way Redia seemed to hide behind Lux and smiled. "Hello, Redia. Lux has told me all about you."

To everyone's surprise, Redia responded easily. "Hello."

Usually, it took her days to warm up to someone new like this. Now, however, it was an immediate reaction. Is she force-sensitive, Ahsoka wondered, able to sense my sincerity?

Her instincts told her no and she didn't pursue the idea any further. When Lux looked at her quizzically, she explained her thoughts in Togruti. "I was curious if she could sense something about me. But don't worry, she's not force-sensitive." Taking a few steps closer, Ahsoka took her youngest child from his father and held him to her chest. "This little guy, is, however, and he's clearly upset about something."

At those words, Eaan let out a mighty screech and waved his hands as if in reply. Alarmed at the sudden outburst his mother and father jumped up and began trying to decipher the code that was their son's crying.

"Is he teething?" Lux wondered, to which his wife shook her head.

"I don't think so, I don't feel anything. But I do think-" For the second time that night, Ahsoka went still before rushing out of the room, Eaan still wailing in her arms.

Lux's first thought was that Niisha had done something that Ahsoka's senses had picked up on. It wasn't until she heard Ahsoka yelling for him from Aidan's room that he realized something definitely was the matter.

Something was wrong, and force-sensitive Eaan had picked up on it.

The commotion was even enough to get the others running, and Lux had to squeeze through Iden and Del to get through the doorway. Redia lagged behind with her ex-imperial acquaintances.

"I don't think he's breathing," Ahsoka said, panicked, already moving to hand off Eaan to Iden.

"It could be shock." Lux pointed out, leaning his head down to rest on Aidan's chest. He was breathing, but just barely. "We should've watched him after administering the antidote- often a reaction to that is more deadly than the initial poison, " Gesturing for help, Lux slid his hands under Aidan's shoulder as Del rushed forward to help.

"Anaphylactic shock?" Iden exclaimed, looking slightly uncomfortable. "I have epinephrine in my bag if he needs-"

"I have some too, but I'll bet the dosage is wrong," Lux said, struggling with Aidan's weight. His son weighed almost 50 kilograms more than he and Lux could definitely feel it. "And we're human. Aidan's not. That could be why this is happening."

Del, Iden, and Sashu stayed behind at the house so Eaan had somebody to look after him while Ahsoka and Lux rushed their son to the Medcenter where the staff was more than ready to assist regardless of how they lined up politically.

Lux felt quite useless when it came to answering all of Aidan's medical information... He didn't know anything beyond his height and weight: (2.03 meters, 130 kilograms). Ahsoka was still fumbling through datapads and paper when the doctor made his diagnosis: biphasic anaphylaxis. An "EpiPen" would've helped, but it was still smart of them to not administer one given that Aidan needed a higher and slightly different dosage than the one that treated food allergies for Iden and Lux.

"Close call," Lux observed, sinking into the seat beside his wife.

"I just can't believe Eaan sensed it before I did, " Ahsoka said dejectedly.

"You were distracted." Lux excused, putting an arm around her. "We all were."

"I had just talked to him minutes before and he was fine!" Ahsoka continued. "I must be losing it. I've been focusing too much on Eaan-"

"Ahsoka, listen to yourself!" Lux interrupted, loudly. Then in a calmer voice, "you did nothing wrong. End of story. We'll have Aidan home with us tomorrow morning."

"I think I'll need to head back sooner so I can rescue Iden. She did not look happy looking after Eaan like that!"

Lux hadn't even noticed that in the hubbub. "No, I'll go back. You can stay here with Aidan, let me take care of the baby for a change."

His wife smiled gratefully and opened her mouth but the doctor returned at that moment, announcing how they wanted to run a few tests since Aidan had initially been poisoned. A few orderlies came into wheel away Aidan's bed and Lux took his leave. All in all, he'd been away from home for a grand total of ninety minutes.

Now I need to go get some answers. I don't care what time it is- I need to find out if my family is in any more danger.

And what better way to satiate those inquires answered than to interrogate your ex-wife?

Just an average day in the life of Lux Bonteri.

ooooooooooooo

"You think I knew that this would happen?" Niisha scoffed at Lux, who was seated mere meters across from her.

"We know you did it, Niisha," Lux said, annoyed. "You had to have known about the shock."

"That is what I call a bonus." She sneered. "Just plunging the dagger a little farther into the heart of your little family. Speaking of which... How's our daughter doing?"

Lux growled. "She's not mine. You should know that."

"Oh, that's right. You stole her from me!"

"I didn't steal anyone! She chose me!"

Clearly, this was turning into some kind of literal custody battle and severely getting off-topic. Rex whispered something in Lux's ear and the senator recomposed himself.

"She's an adult anyway. Redia can do as she wishes." He narrowed his eyebrows. "Now, is there anything else I need to know about?"

Their Imperial prisoner pretended to think a moment. "No. Not yet."

"Not yet?" Lux leaned forward on his knees. "Then when?"

"Once the Empire has destroyed the last of you pathetic separatists-"

"Rebels." Lux corrected, offended.

"Separatists, "Niisha continued amidst the glares of both Lux and Rex, who was standing at the door.

"What makes you so sure of that, Imperial scum?" Growled the clone captain, and Lux had to hold out an arm to signal him to calm down.

"It's okay, let him fight. He's only got a few months left, anyway." Niisha said, sitting back with a smug look on her face.

Lux stood up quickly, his blue eyes burning. "You can insult me, but you cannot insult my friends." The senator turned to his companion. "I'm done for now. Rex...put her to sleep."

He left the room without another word to anyone. It was honestly a miracle he had managed to live for over a decade with her always yelling at him.

Then he took a step back and realized why he had done it once he saw Redia waiting outside the basement door.

"Jakku." she said, softly. "She was talking about Jakku."

"What about Jakku?"

Redia fidgeted nervously as if somehow scared Niisha could still get to her. Then in a soft voice, said:

"That's where the Empire's gathering."


	32. Chapter 32

"Jakku?" Aidan and Ahsoka chorused in unison.

"That's a wasteland. What is the Empire going to do there?" Asked Aidan, freshly awoken and fidgeting in his hospital bed.

"I don't know," Lux said. "I couldn't get that much out of her, but I can try again."

"I don't like this. It'll be a naval battle." Ahsoka put in. "I don't know if we can stand it."

"Sure we can," Aidan said. "We've got Wedge and Norra and tons of other very capable leaders. And, not to mention, I'll be out of here and able to help you as well."

"I'm not going to be fighting," Ahsoka said, which of course surprised everyone. Lux looked shocked, while Aidan's looked more like a betrayal occurred.

"What will you be doing instead??"He demanded.

"Unfortunately, I have other business to attend to," Ahsoka said, and although her voice was calm, her tone was annoyed. "I made a promise that I would help locate Ezra. Now, Sabine is insisting I do it now. I don't have an excuse anymore."

Lux spoke up, also feeling betrayed. "So you're leaving us?"

"For a few months. If it takes any longer than that I'll just assume he doesn't actually want to be found. I'm tired of that boy ruining time with my family."

Aidan was about to mention that Ezra wasn't exactly a boy anymore (he was just as old as Luke and Leia). Lux could see it in his son's eyes that something was up. They'd talk later.

Ahsoka was still glowering when Aidan coughed loudly, trying to clear the last of the phlegm in his throat. He groaned and laid back. "I feel like I've never been this sick before."

"You were once," Ahsoka said, putting a hand to his brow under his much shorter bangs. She frowned. "It was the hardest week of my life."

"I'm sorry I couldn't have been there," Lux said.

"You probably would've been too busy panicking." Ahsoka pointed out.

Lux rolled his eyes at that but didn't retort. "When do you leave?" He asked her instead.

"As soon as Aidan's released. I'll see him safely home, then leave the same time as Iden and Del will. I could take our prisoner back if you want." Her eyes said differently though. Lux had a feeling that Ahsoka would throw Niisha out the airlock as soon as she had the chance.

"Iden and Del already offered. Their ship has a brig, anyway." Lux gave her a knowing, sly smile that indicated he knew her plans.

"Oh, go get a room," Aidan said playfully when his parents exchanged challenging glances.

Lux mumbled something in Onderani that Aidan decided was not something he wanted to translate.

"Let's see if we can get you home before lunch." Lux stood and clapped Aidan on the shoulder before walking off to find a doctor.

Aidan watched him leave. His father's hair was now completely grey, but not the ugly light kind, Lux's was more of a defined dark grey.

"Does he have all that grey hair because of me?" He wondered aloud.

Ahsoka turned to meet her son's gaze. "I'd say most of it is from fatherhood, but not just to you. He says it as a joke, mostly, but he may actually be too old for a baby. I keep forgetting how much shorter a human's lifespan is."

"Wait, lifespan?" Aidan asked. "How come I've never heard about a lifespan difference?"

Ahsoka blanched, "I've never told you? How could that be?"

But Aidan knew her too well. "You hid this from me?"

"I just didn't want to consider the fact that I could outlive you. That's not supposed to happen, I'm your mother."

Aidan considered that as a legitimate answer. "I guess I understand. How much longer is it? And how long will I live?"

"If all goes according to plan I can live 50 years longer than your father, and you- I'm not sure. You have Togruta blood, but that won't necessarily save you if your organs begin to fail at a human rate." Ah, the benefits of living on a planet with just as many Togruta as Humans- Ahsoka was able to learn those facts anytime she took her sons to a doctor. For every human feature, her sons showed a hidden Togruta characteristic, like their blood or their heart. For instance, Aidan could only receive Togruta blood from a transfusion, not human. The same was suspected of Eaan.

"That complicates things, " Aidan said, shifting his weight once again. He looked toward his mother. "Does Dad know?"

"He will soon," Ahsoka replied simply.

A few minutes of silence went by and Lux returned in that time with a doctor in tow, one who cleared Aidan to go along with a few shots worth of epinephrine in case something flared up again. Aidan was instructed to go easy on food for a few days before he should be fine.

Aidan couldn't wait to get home after his rough few days. He just wanted to go back to his friends and be able to spend time with his little brother, even if all Eaan wanted to do was sleep. He also wanted a chance to explore his homeworld.

Mostly, he just wanted to show up and stick it to his father's stupid ex that he lived.

Then, he'd head off to the New Republic with Iden and Del and hopefully become pilot enough to fight at Jakku.

Sensing his thoughts, his mother sent him a glance that he roughly translated to mean, "be nice, but I agree."

The two of them matched identical smirks. Lux turned around and caught them but only raised an eyebrow. The two of them must've been planning something... As usual.

When they walked in the door it was surprisingly quiet, not even Eaan's crying could be heard- most notably because he wasn't actually crying, but safely nestled in the surprisingly adaptable arms of Del. (This only furthered Ahsoka's suspicions that Iden was not the mothering type.) Eaan was so content that he didn't even seem to care that Ahsoka had come back.

Iden rose from the couch when they returned. "You're alright!" She exclaimed as if she was initially doubting his chances of survival.

"It takes more than a bit of poison to kill me, " Aidan said and embraced his friend. It was quick, though, just short enough so that Del didn't get paranoid that Aidan was playing Mr.-steal-ya-girl with him.

"Hey, anaphylaxis is a big deal," Iden said, not to be taken lightly. "You're lucky."

Del handed Lux back his baby and clapped Aidan on the shoulder. "Good to have you back. Iden's not admitting it but she cried more than the baby did."

Iden punched her partner and rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to him."

With Eaan still in tow, Lux had to retreat to the desk in his room. He had work to do, things to sign. It had been so long that his once regal signature looked more like an L followed by unintelligible scribbles, followed by a B with more of the like instead of his full name. In Onderani: Aluxando Daneel Bonteri. In Basic: Just plain old Lux Bonteri.

A few seconds later Ahsoka entered and began to change clothes into her more active wear.

"Do you really have to leave?" He asked, pausing his work to spin around and look at her.

Ahsoka stopped packing. "I'm sorry, Lux, but you know the answer."

And I don't like it.

"What about Eaan?" Lux gestured to the crib."He still needs you, doesn't he?"

"He'll be fine, he can have formula now."

Lux sighed and stood up in order to walk to her. "I know, but, I worry, " he said as he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her cheek.

"The sooner I leave and come back, the sooner we can get on with our lives and finally have a baby girl." She smirked.

"I've told you, Ahsoka, we're too old." Lux rolled her eyes. "That won't happen."

Ahsoka smiled sadly in a way that told Lux she was definitely hiding something. But, whatever it was, he would not be finding out anytime soon as she was already pulling on a white robe over clothes. It had a hood that she tried to pull up, but stopped and decided against it, not wanting to seem a stranger in her own home.

It took her a long time to decide to separate from her husband, who was teasing her with gentle kisses in an effort to get her to postpone her leaving. A trivial but welcome distraction.

"I need you to let me go, Lux." She whispered. "Or else we might have that little girl a few months earlier than expected." She added suggestively.

Reluctantly, he complied. "Three months." He reminded her.

"Three months." She echoed and left his embrace. Ahsoka headed off to the living room, where Iden and Del waited. They would drop her off on Lothal so she could meet up with Sabine and then go on to take Niisha to be imprisoned with the New Republic, with Rex watching her the whole time.

She trusted Lux could hold down the fort while she was gone.

Aidan was saying his goodbyes to Inferno Squad when Ahsoka entered. It made her glad to know he had new friends, but also upset to realize that they were leaving. Companionship was important, and not just because of his Togruta need for it. Ahsoka doubted her son would last a week before he snuck back to the fighting. Then, Lux would be alone with Eaan for most of the time. Perhaps that may have been a blessing in disguise.

The Bonteri family was never good at goodbyes. After hugging her son once, Ahsoka slipped from the door and toward the Corvus at its hidden location. Del and Iden lagged behind by a few minutes.

It would be three months before she saw home again.

oooooooooooooooo

Lux's first order of business was to go into town with his sons. Not for publicity or anything, but because of legitimate need. After all this time, Aidan had outgrown his last few pairs of clothes. Eaan would soon need new outfits as well.

With the baby boy presently in Aidan's arms, the trio probably looked like three generations instead of two. Lux's head of grey hair didn't help matters.

"Isn't this Eaan's first time in Iziz?" Aidan asked as he readjusted his grip on his brother.

Lux nodded, somewhat distracted by the familiarity of his old home. People of different species milled about, some stopping to stare. Aidan was a little perplexed once he encountered other Togruta-Human hybrids, especially some that had varying degrees of appearance from him. Onderon was full of them, but Aidan was unique in the aspect that he was the only one high up in governmental ranks.

He didn't mind.

Eaan insisted on being held a certain way; facing the front instead of over Aidan's shoulder like usual. He wanted to see everything that was going on, and his big eyes were certainly drinking it all it. It was a very cute sight to behold, and Lux found himself smiling.

"It may also be time for Eaan's first haircut." Said the father to his eldest son. "It's getting long."

Aidan grimaced at the word 'haircut', remembering the days of his blonde hair being long and free before having it cut for their slightly-undercover-but-also-kind-of-legit-mission. He still hadn't forgiven his father for that even though Lux promised to let him grow it back out.

"Let's step in here." Lux indicated to a shop tailored to infants and toddlers, perfect for Eaan. As soon as they were inside, Aidan beelined for the most colorful onesies with the cutest sayings he could find, taking Eaan as well. Lux lagged behind and looked for other things first and foremost. But, he had to admit, a few outfits befitting a baby girl did catch his eye, despite his supposed insistence that Eaan would be his last child.

On the other side of the store, Aidan browsed and Eaan reached for whatever caught his interest. "You like this one, bud?" he asked after seeing Eaan's fist grab onto an outfit made to mimic that of a pilot's suit. On one hand, Aidan was surprised to see such an item seeing as the Empire still had some power on Onderon. But he wasn't complaining. "Yeah, Mom would like this one, you bet."

The tall Rebel jumped when a store attendant offered assistance.

"Oh, no thank you, " Aidan said, recovering.

"Your son looks just like you!" She went on. The attendant was a female Togruta like Aidan's mother, but that was where the similarities ended.

"Oh, he's not my son." Aidan chuckled. "But I see why you're confused. He's actually my brother."

The woman's lavender skin darkened to be more of a purple as she tried to apologize. "I'm so sorry about that, I'm just not used to the, uh..."She gestured awkwardly.

"Age difference?" Aidan finished. "Yeah, it's a little strange. Took me a while to get used to as well."

"Well, if you need anything, just ask." Said the woman and went back to her station. The shop was so small, Aidan supposed that it had been a while since the woman had any customers and he hoped he hadn't ruined what may have been her first pleasant conversation with a customer in weeks.

After a while, Lux came over to his sons. "Did you find anything?"

"Eaan likes this one," Aidan said and showed his father the mini pilots suit.

"Eaan likes it? Or you like it?" Lux raised an eyebrow.

Defeated, Aidan put the outfit back (it was too small for Eaan, anyway,) and resumed looking with his father behind him. Lux was more focused on practical wear like pants and shirts but still smiled every once in a while after Aidan showed him something, like the baby-sized tuxedo outfit.

He'd relented on that one seeing as Aidan was about to get a new tux as well. Perhaps Lux would be able to get a few cute holos of his sons for Ahsoka to see when she got back. They didn't seem to have that many family pictures.

When they got to the desk to check out with the same woman who'd talked with Aidan earlier, her eyes lit up in recognition.

"Senator Bonteri, " She gasped, and Lux gave a smile.

"The one and only."

The young woman's eyes flitted to Aidan next, realizing that she had earlier been speaking to the prenz of Onderon.

Lux left a gracious tip on their way out, and Aidan told him about the confusion of Eaan being his son. It seemed that Lux's earlier suspicions had been confirmed, and therefore he must've been doing a very good job staying low-profile when it came to his sons.

They stopped for lunch next, and when Lux excused himself to take Eaan to be cleaned up, Aidan could feel lots of people staring at him. His eyes, especially, given that they gave away his mixed heritage. For most of the cafe's occupants, it was astonishment, not in any way meant to be bad. But, there were a few obviously wealthy aristocrats in attendance as well, and they scoffed and whispered about him.

Oh well, it wasn't anything he'd ever experienced before when he'd shadowed his father in the senate building and the palace.

When Lux returned, the first thing Aidan asked was if his eyes were really that noticeable.

"They're noticeably not human." Lux clarified, "but that doesn't mean much on this planet anymore. It's the Empire that imposed its racist ideals, not the Republic. Just another obstacle."

Aidan looked at Eaan's big blue eyes next, remembering what the cashier from the store had said about him looking just like him. Hopefully, by the time Eaan grew up there wouldn't be prejudice any longer.

"Just wondering," Aidan said and went back to eating. He finished before Lux and offered to give Eaan his bottle, an offer which his father accepted.

"Do you remember how tall you are?" Lux asked his son. "We'll need it when we get you fitted for a tux. And did you like how my old one fit? It's a typical Onderani cut, but there are other options."

"I dunno, Dad." Aidan shrugged. "I've never done this before. I'll just go with whatever you say looks good."

Lux gave a slight smile and set down his eating utensils, finished with his meal as well. He paid and the three of them left for their next destination.


	33. Chapter 33

By the end of that month, every single stormtrooper and Imperial officer had left the planet.

It should've been cause for celebration, but instead all Lux could be was suspicious. Red is had told him about the Empire's last stand at Jakku, and if every single Imperial was there and the Empire prevailed, they'd just be back in greater numbers and take care of him and his family... For good.

Lux wasn't going to let that happen.

Aidan was at home with Eaan, who had begun teething earlier that week and needed 24/7 care. Lux just needed to sit through one last meeting and he would be able to go home to them.

He was watching the war unfold live on his datapad. He could see the X-Wings flitting about and watched the Empire's last Star Destroyers crashed into the surface of Jakku.

The sad thing was that it didn't matter anyway.

The Empire had already surrendered.

Now, several of Lux's countrymen were being investigated for possible ties to the Empire and their fates needed to be discussed. Not to mention, there were now many open seats in the legislature that needed to be filled. Lux was ready to propose his friend Delon to be proposed to fill the place of second in command if he was alright with giving up his ambassadorship.

As a senator, Lux had certain executive powers for use at any time. Unfortunately, one of those powers was not adjourning a meeting simply because he was bored and overqualified. For once, he wished something would happen to distract the delegation beyond the celebrating outside the building.

Celebration... And discourse. Lux knew at some point an imperial sympathizer would be revealed from a citizen alone and they may have a riot on their hands, such as the ones on planets he had heard of during his time as the Mentor.

"Do we have enough guards posted throughout the city?" One of his advisors asked, voicing Lux's concerns about the situation outdoors.

"We don't want too many of them." Lux surmised. "The last thing people want is the presence of soldiers in their everyday lives."

"Senator, there may be people killed if there isn't extra security!"

"We can have security, but not too much!"

A few people exchanged glances. While Lux couldn't read their expressions perfectly, he supposed that some people were legitimately scared of the turmoil.

"Why is everyone nervous?" He asked the group. "Do you mean to tell me you felt safer with the Empire in control?"

"No, sir, but-"

"If you agree with the people then you are in no danger. There is no need for a military presence more than the law enforcement we already have."

"Not all of us have half a family of New Republic officers, Senator."

Lux wasn't sure what the comment was supposed to evoke from him. Was he being mocked? Antagonized?

"Our planet is safe, I assure you." Lux said, a little annoyed about the jabs toward his wife and son. It was bad enough he was receiving scrutiny for marrying a Togruta, but having them face the brunt of it was worse. "Safer than it has been in a while."

If I can't convince Aidan to become a politician, I can at least get him to be Captain of the Guard. That seems more up his alley.

He doubted those words would be enough to sway his fellows. But it didn't matter- an alarm went off, signaling the meeting's end. As quick as he could, Lux stood up and, suddenly overcome with the energy of a younger man, nearly jumped the stairs two at a time towards his office. He finally checked his comm only to find dozens of messages from his son.

Lux didn't even need to look at them to know what they discussed.

oooooooo

"Dad? Dad! Did you hear the news?" Aidan was yelling before Lux could even set his coat and bag down.

"Yes, son. I was watching!" Lux pulled his son in for a jubilant embrace, one that an unsuspecting Rex was immediately pulled into once he came out to find what was going on.

"It's over?" The captain asked, in shock. "The war is over?"

"Yes!" Father and son yelled in unison.

"I can't believe it."

"Well, you'd better." Lux clapped his old friend on the arm as the "older" man sunk into a chair.

In the midst of the excitement, Lux had to remember what a shocker this was to Rex: he had spent his entire life, literally, fighting against the anarchy that was the Separatists or the Empire depending on the times. Fighting had been his purpose.

"It's over." He repeated and began to say a series of words that Lux assumed was a prayer in Mando'a. A prayer that punctuated the fact that he was one of the last surviving clones out of all of them.

"Does Mom know?" Aidan asked.

"She's been off the radar for a while, but even sure I assume she'll figure it out. Or, who knows, maybe we will get to be the ones to tell her."

Aidan smiled at the thought, then wandered off once his brother began fussing in the background.

Meanwhile, the clone captain on the couch had gone silent, possibly even had zoned out. Slowly, Lux eased himself down beside him. "Everything alright, ner vod?" That was about the extent of Lux's Mando'a, but it was enough.

Slowly, Rex came back to reality. "I... I'm not quite sure, Bonteri." He said. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."

"I'll tell you what you'll do. You can start a normal life. We'll find you an apartment if you want it- or, once we move back to my old place in the city, you can have this place."

"What?" Rex scoffed and immediately began to protest. "A new life? Lux, I may be younger than you, but I'm twice your age. And I don't have any money... I gave it all to Ahsoka when she left off with Aidan all those decades ago."

Lux hadn't realized that. He liked to think that he had long since conquered his guilt of not helping with Aidan, but when things like this popped up it became difficult to suppress.

"Doesn't matter." Lux easily decided. "I need to pay you back for all those years, after all."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

Their banter stopped when Aidan came back into the room. "He's back to sleep." The young man reported and plopped down perpendicular to his father and uncle. "And, I'm with you, Rex. I have no idea what to do now. Thoughts of "settling down" never crossed my mind. I mean, getting married? Do I really seem that kind of guy?"

"No." Rex said immediately in unison with Lux's affirmative answer.

Aidan just sighed and leaned back. "I need a drink."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but... So do I." Lux added. His eyes lit up. "I can ask Redia to say."

Rex and Aidan continued to talk as he left toward Redia's room. It was a bit awkward of an arrangement, but it wouldn't be for much longer. Redia had actually taken over Aidan's 'bedroom' and booted him to the couch. Lux had found most of her old holodisks and art supplies they had stored up here when they had gone here in the past to escape Niisha's wrath.

"Hey, " he greeted her, standing in the doorway. The girl was hyper-fixated on her book and didn't immediately respond.

When she finally did look up, it was simply to declare that Aidan "was a mess."

That got a chuckle out of her father.

"I think all men are a mess at one point in their lives."

"Even you?"

Lux looked at her. "Did I ever have a messy room? No. But was I ever a mess in other ways? You bet."

His daughter scooted over in order to make him room to sit next to her. "Where's Ahsoka?" She asked, her dark eyes reading his expression as he answered.

"Away on some unfinished Rebel business. She'll be back soon." Lux answered, mildly saddened at the fact that Redia wasn't totally comfortable with his wife.

She hummed in a noncommittal manner. "Do you miss her?"

"Of course I do!" Lux answered. "It's only normal seeing as I love her."

"I know it's bad, but I miss Mother." Redia went on. "She's done terrible things but I feel obligated to miss her. Is that bad?"

"No." Lux hoped his expression didn't betray his true thoughts. In all honesty, Lux believed Niisha should be tried and given life for her crimes. Not killed... His conscious wouldn't allow that. Watching Azen and former member of Inferno Squad Seyn be killed and tortured had been gruesome and they hadn't deserved to die so grotesquely. If they had to have been executed it should've been by blaster, and he definitely would not have been playing executioner. "I don't fault you. Even though she wasn't the best mother, she still gave birth to you and that's a bond worth something at least."

They sat in silence a few moments while Lux decided the best way to report about Jakku. Catching on to her dejected feelings, he decided to start by expressing thanks.

"Even though your mother wouldn't talk to us, you did, and as a result, the Empire has fallen and the Galaxy had been freed."

"Make no mistake." Redia countered. "I believed in the Empire. I supported what it stood for. But only after you left did I begin to see the fault. That's why I told you about Jakku It's time for the next group to arise."

And with that said, she went quiet. Lux pondered her words, found some that he agreed with. Others he didn't.

"I just wanted to thank you is all." He said, actually a bit defeated. "And to ask you a favor. Could you watch Eaan for a few hours?"

She looked up. "By watching him, do you mean to sit here while he sleeps?"

Lux chuckled. "Well, he does a little more than that, now." He thought back to just that morning when his son had rolled over on his own, Not to mention, he was beginning to "talk" past the babbling noises of usual.

"I'll call you if it's more than I can handle." Redia decided, and Lux folded his hands as in conclusion of their talk. "Great! We'll be back in a few hours."

He delayed a few more minutes only to change into less fancy and noticeable clothing for an outing with his son and friend. He and Aidan were even matching shirts as Rex merrily led them along in such a mood as Lux had never seen him before.

"If I get drunk, get me out of there." Lux reminded his son, who laughed but promised to uphold his family's honor even if his father was a severe lightweight. Nobody knew why, but Aidan could outdrink an entire outfit of New Republic soldiers and have no hangover the next morning.

"And don't blow all of our credits, either!"

"Yeah, yeah." Aidan waved him off. "I'll be fine."

"And be careful!" Lux gripped his son's sleeve in a surprisingly strong grip. "You're a target, son, remember that."

"I've always been a target." Aidan gave a slight pilot's salute and led the way to an open table Rex had found for the trio.

The inhabitants of the restraurant (or more appropriately, the bar, as that was what most of the occupants were using it as) were humans and as such the variation in ale was not that extraneous. But it was better than any of them had drank in a while. Even Aidan's eyes widened as the harsh liquid slid down his throat.

"I thought you wouldn't want to drink anymore after what happened last time." Rex told Aidan.

"I said I would never drink on the job or at a professional event. Today is neither." Aidan said, taking another big swig after adjusting to the feeling of liquid fire in his throat.

Lux's own face puckered at the taste. Rex seemed to be the only one unaffected.

Nobody else seemed to care for the odd combination of the senator, the pilot, and the soldier. For once, Lux found himself relaxing into the reality that the war was finally over and that he and those he loved were safe.

It was all he ever asked for.


	34. Epilogue

Ahsoka returned home to a happy family free of the Empire.

Eaan was old enough to be sitting up on his own and smiling when his mother came home.

"Did you keep your father in line while I was gone?" Ahsoka cooed, having immediately shed her annoying robe and weapons and transformed back into "Mama" mode. Eaan was happily babbling on her hip, where he belonged, and drooling all over his fist.

"He certainly kept me busy, if that's what you were wondering." Lux said, emerging from his office and trying to mask his relief with slight bravado as he leaned on the doorway. Ahsoka just rolled her eyes and rushed towards him for a careful hug as Eaan squealed in annoyance.

"Where's Aidan?" She asked.

"With his godson, " Lux answered and kissed her brow. At her quizzical expression, he elaborated: "Leia had her baby on the same day the Empire surrendered."

"The Empire surrendered?" Ahsoka exclaimed, stepping back and moving Eaan to the other hip. "I was wondering why it was so easy to land."

"You didn't... Sense it?"

"Lux, that's not how the force works." Ahsoka felt as if she were explaining that for the hundredth time. "But, I did sense a little bit of something- now that I know what happened, it may have been Leia's baby."

"He's a cute little guy, "Lux admitted. "But seeing Aidan hold a baby always makes me feel so old."

Ahsoka's face fell a bit, but Lux had turned his back to go work in the kitchen preparing Eaan's dinner. ("He eats a lot of sweet potatoes.")

"Have you started feeding him meat yet?" Ahsoka asked, easing herself onto the couch with Eaan in her lap.

"Meat?"Lux blanched. "Uh, no."

"Aidan was eating meat and solids at this age." Ahsoka explained. "But it's fine. I'm sure it'll be okay." Even so, she frowned a bit when she examined Eaan's light, possibly even pale in a sense, skin. Aidan had been much darker.

" 'Soka..." Lux began when he came back with Eaan's food. He felt suddenly awkward- his wife hadn't mentioned how her quest had gone. Perhaps he wasn't supposed to know. He changed his words. "I'm glad you're back."

"Me, too." She agreed, watching their six-month-old attempt to feed himself. For once, Lux didn't care that the furniture was in danger of being dirty. "But I need to talk to you about something."

Ah, here we go.

"I'll wait until after Eaan's asleep, though. And I haven't asked you how Redia is doing."

"Oh." That startled Lux a bit. "She's doing fine, adjusted well. We go and visit Niisha once a week. She's agreed to give information anytime someone can beat her at a game of holochess. Problem is- she's great at holochess. Nobody's ever beat her."

His wife hummed noncommittally, running a hand through their baby's soft hair. With his hunger satisfied, Eaan was well on the way to sleep.

"Redia asked me if she could call you 'mom' the other day. I thought that was big."

"I'd like that, but only if she's comfortable with it." Ahsoka said, then thought a moment. "I guess this makes us a blended family."

"I'm not sure what we are, but we definitely are family." Her husband agreed, lifting the dishes from her hand and carrying them to the sink. When he returned and sat beside her, she leaned against his chest so he could, in turn, wrap an arm around her shoulder and put a hand on Eaan's back.

Then her demand changed. Lux felt him relax against him, but could also feel her hold her breath. He knew something was coming that would be hard to hear, or difficult for her to say. He took hold of her hand.

"Lux?" She eventually began. "How much do you know about Togruta?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know that I'll outlive you?"

"What makes you say that?" He asked, surprised and a little hurt as he looked down at her. She didn't meet his eyes.

"The average lifespan for a Togruta is one-hundred-thirty years."

He blinked. "Oh."

"I won't just outlive you." She continued. "I may outlive Aidan. And if he waits until we did to have kids..."

"I won't be able to be a true grandfather to my grandchildren." He paused. "Soka, if that's what's bothering you... I already knew that much. I've accepted it. Why's the topic only just now coming up?"

She shook her head. "No reason. I was just thinking."

Pursing his lips, Lux warned her about trying to hide things from him. "Always honest, remember?"

After a few more seconds, Ahsoka told him the truth. "While I was traveling, I saw a lot of visions. And...I saw our daughter, Lux."

"Our daughter?" He asked, more interested than he cared to admit.

"Yes." Ahsoka lifted Eaan to her shoulder, put a hand softly on her abdomen in a thoughtful manner. "She was beautiful. I watched her play with and older Eaan, and they looked just like we did when we were children."

Lux didn't remind her that they hadn't known each other when they were children. He just nodded. "Now, that's the force working the way I know it does." He kissed her montrals. "And I guess it's telling us that we're going to have a little girl."

"Not just one little girl." Ahsoka said casually. "Twins."

Now, Lux had been ready for one more baby- after all, Ahsoka had her heart set and he really didn't want to disappoint her. But, twins?!

"You're kidding, " he began, rubbing his face and feeling the stubble on his chin.

"Why would I kid about this, Lux?" She asked, her eyes twinkling at his expense.

He didn't respond. Now, all he could think about was how much sleep he was going to miss, how many more cups of caf he was going to drink...

"At least it's safe, now." Lux tried for a smile, but his eyebrows were still scrunched together in a clear sign of shock. "Safe for children. Safe for -oh force above- two more babies." He blinked again. "And when will this happen?"

"Soon." Ahsoka grinned. Her husband just sighed and reached down for Eaan.

"If Eaan had been a girl, could he have been our last baby?" He wondered.

Ahsoka punched him slightly, rolled her eyes at him and watched him get up to take Eaan back to his room. Lux laughed as he walked, a smile forming on his lips.

Then, he got to the doorway of the nursery and realized something.

 _We're going to need a bigger house._

 **oooooooo**

Ben Solo had to be the most cranky baby Aidan had ever encountered.

Of course, he would never say that out loud out of fear for both his job and his life, depending on which of the boy's parents got to him first.

Now that he had been dismissed, however, he was free to do as he wished, which included working on his mother's old x-wing. The thing was still standing, and Aidan was stubbornly refusing to use a new one. As long as he kept the repairs going, it would always work, and maybe one day it would be his kid deciding whether it was worth it at all.

Except, compared to his mother, Aidan was hardly even a mediocre mechanic. Right now, he had a busted hyperdrive, and he could hardly even see into the bowels of the ship, much less get inside of it to see the problem.

Finally, he put the small light into his mouth and felt around with both hands in front of him. The only result was his thumb catching on a loose wire and immediately beginning to hurt. Scowling, he quickly removed his hands and shook his left one in pain. His right palm, however, hit something else and resulted in oil squirting at his face and into his eyes.

"Blast!" He explained, stepping down from the ladder and grasping blindly for the towel he had set out somewhere. Of course, he only succeeded in knocking it down and out of reach.

"Here." Came a voice he hadn't heard before. A small hand took his arm and then placed something soft in his hand. Aidan mumbled a thank you and rubbed away the oil, hoping to get a glimpse of his 'rescuer'.

At first glance, he thought it was Leia.

The girl-no, woman, who'd helped him wasn't much taller than Leia was, but Aidan knew Leia would never wear a pilot's suit as this woman did.

"Thanks." He said again, more clearly.

"Having trouble with the hyperdrive?" She asked and Aidan had no choice but to agree. "Ship's just old is all and, well, I'm not very good at fixing it."

Surprisingly, the woman didn't comment about the ship's age like others usually did. She didn't seem to care. "Let me take a look, "she suggested, already climbing up.

"As far as I can tell, the wire keeps coming loose and-" Aidan trailed off when he began to get handed random pieces of machinery and whatnot. Then-

"Here's your problem." She announced, holding a worn down motivator in desperate need of repair. She tossed it to him. "Get a new one and you'll be fine."

"Thank you." Aidan said again, feeling suddenly sheepish in her presence.

"I'm Graxea."She offered, wiping her hands on the same towel Aidan had used and then held out a hand.

"I'm Aidan." He answered. "Aidan Bonteri."

"Bonteri?" Graxea's eyes widened."Like, 'Royal House of Onderon' Bonteri?"

Aidan felt his cheeks flush, ready for the slew of questions that would inevitably come. "Yeah."

But Graxea seemed to take this with a grain of salt. "You're the only one I've met from Onderon since I've got here."

"How long have you been here?" Aidan hadn't seen her around before. Maybe she had been elsewhere.

"A few years." Graxea said. "I was a mechanic for most of it, though. Not out and about like you probably were." From her expression and tone of voice, Aidan was pretty sure that she was slightly jealous of the fact that she hadn't been out there with her fellow pilots.

"It wasn't always a good thing."Aidan pointed out, thinking back to all the people he had seen die around him, how hurt he had gotten. "Lots of people died- planets suffered, and there are still Imperial sympathizers out there."

Graxea gave him a funny look. "Then... Are you going to stop them?"

Aidan looked at her. "I suppose I am. That's my job, after all. And if you want-" He closed the panels on his fighter and continued on. "You can come along."

"You can do that?" Graxea's eyes widened, and she whispered, "is it because you're a fellow Senator's son?"

"Well..."Aidan scratched his head. "It's actually because I happen to be Leia's best friend, but that's probably just as good."

"Her best friend?" Graxea echoed. "How did that happen?"

"It's a long story." Aidan said, drawing out the word. "I'll tell it to you once my ship's airborne- and we'll be on our way to wherever Leia sends us off to."

 **ooooooooo**

Five years was a long time to live in a time of peace.

All across the Galaxy, the New Republic had begotten a new era of prosperity, a new generation that knew nothing of the terrors that was the Empire.

Aidan began to split his time equally between his job and spending his time with his family, which had now expanded to include twins Ahmina and Acelin, who were three. As it turned out, Ahsoka's force visions had been slightly wrong: while she had thought she saw Ahmina playing with Eaan when in fact it had been the twins together.

Speaking of Eaan, he had just turned six years old and beginning his first year at the New Academy of Onderon, where Aidan taught secondary school level languages (Basic and Togruti) as well as an "intro to New Republic command" class.

Onderon had changed. The issues about military occupation and the such had been proved unnecessary as now the streets and cities had returned to how they were before even the Second Great War. Instead of walking down main street and seeing no other living soul, the markets were back and Aidan could grab breakfast for him and his brother on the way there.

"Careful not to get your uniform dirty." Aidan reminded him, handing his brother half of a sticky purple fruit.

"I won't!" Eaan insisted and grabbed it. True to his word, he made no mess except for the staining of the ends of his fingers. Smiling, Aidan handed him a towel to wipe his face with.

They continued on to the Academy, a pristine building that stood where the old Palace had. Despite the fact that his family would, in fact, be the ones who ruled the planet, Lux Bonteri had made it quite clear that he was not bringing back the monarchy. "The war of the past two decades is proof enough that an aristocracy is not any way to rule." Aidan couldn't agree more, and it was in that moment that he had been most proud of his father's political achievements- even if they disagreed about nearly everything else.

Ever the adventurer, Eaan ran several steps ahead of his brother and up the Academy steps. Aidan had to jog to catch up and direct him to his classroom. Primary school started a full hour earlier than Secondary, so he had a while before class started to go over the day's lessons.

It had been Leia's idea and urging that he start to teach. His parents and Graxea supported him eagerly, and as far as he knew his students loved him.

In his free time, Aidan called Graxea and set her small holographic form on his desk while he graded.

"How is it back at base?" He asked her. She operated on an A day/ B day schedule, which meant she got three days off to spend on the planet at home with him, and then spent one day on duty.

"We just got a new group of cadets- there's one who reminds me of you." Graxea had a smile on her face as she said that. "And there's a boy, his name is Poe. He's too young to be a cadet but L'olo is looking after him. He's a Dameron."

Dameron.

"I knew Kes Dameron. Good man. Take care of Poe, okay?"

"He's not mine yet." Continued his girlfriend. "I told you, not old enough to be a cadet."

"Yeah, well, clearly you don't know who's taught him. " Aidan laughed to himself a bit, remembering Kes and Shara. They had been good people and great friends.

"I'll take care of him." Graxea promised.

"And I'll be able to stop by in a few weeks when I'm on holiday." Aidan added, glancing at his watch. He didn't have much time left and he still didn't know what to do for his Intro to command class that afternoon."I'll see you then. Love you."

She smiled, and his heart skipped a beat like it always did. "Love you, too."

Her image disappeared, and Aidan tossed down a datapad, falling back against his chair. There was something that just didn't seem right about today. Something... off.

He shrugged to himself. It was probably nothing. He was no Jedi like his mother, therefore his feelings didn't mean anything.

And then the alarm went off.

 **oooooooo**

 **Author's note:**

 **Here we are, guys! This book has been completed, and on a sort of cliffhanger if I may say... I'm so sorry for the extra week wait, life just got a little crazy.**

 **I'm in the process of moving all my stories to wattpad because it's a better platform. I've encountered lots of problems with uploads on this site so if you want the next book, it'll be on wattpad and my account there has the same name as this one.**

 **May the force be with you!**

 **Dinui**


	35. Reminder

**Reminder:**

 **Someone asked about a sequel to this story- I will reiterate that there WILL be a sequel, though it will be posted on WATTPAD under my account there.**

 **In other words, if you want to read the sequel, go to wattpad. I can't stand the way things run here on : the formatting often deletes words from my stories and removes italics and other things no matter how many time I go back and edit it.**

 **Just find my account @dinuiparjai on wattpad and you will find all the stories I have posted here on this site, plus a publication dedicated just to memes about my stories as well as some incorrect quotes.**

 **Hope to see you there!**

 **Dinui**


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